, ,

“I don’t want to talk about it, I want to scream about it”: Holocaust survivor and CAA national billboard campaign model Ruth Posner recounts escape from Warsaw Ghetto and views on antisemitism today

Ruth Posner BEM, a Polish-born British Holocaust survivor who escaped the Warsaw Ghetto as a child, appeared on the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism where she recounted her harrowing ordeal during the Shoah, and shared her thoughts and feelings on modern antisemitism and Holocaust denial. 

Ms Posner described how she grew up proud of her Polish identity, with many Catholic friends, and whose non-religious Jewish father viewed himself as a “humanist”. These factors, she explained, contributed to the shock that she felt when she was forced into the Ghetto alongside religiously observant Jews, with whom she felt that she had little in common.

However, Ms Posner noted that many of her Catholic friends spread the antisemitic myth of deicide and that she began to feel a change when one day at school, a girl hit her and said: “You killed our Lord, and you should be punished for it.” 

Shortly after that incident, she noted, war broke out. Nazis would knock at the door of Ms Posner’s family, telling them that they had fifteen minutes to gather their belongings and leave. 

“I couldn’t understand what was happening,” she said. “And my mother said to one of the guys, ‘You’re wearing a black uniform, but your heart can’t be black?’ And she was hit. He just smacked her…it was the first sign of violence that I had ever witnessed.”

She revealed how her family was then forced into the Ghetto. “We were marched with other people, I can’t remember how many, to a house where I met people I didn’t normally associate with, not because I didn’t want to but just because my life was different. [I was] with very religious Jews with peyot (sidelocks) who spoke Yiddish, and I felt estranged from them, strangely enough.”

Ms Posner recalled the “filthy old house packed with people” where her and her family were given one room in the basement to live in alongside others, noting that her father slept on the floor.

“We heard trucks, now and then, and people shouting ‘heraus, heraus’ (‘out, out’), and the trucks were being loaded with people living in that house,” she said, unaware that what she was hearing were the first instances of deportations to concentration and extermination camps.

“People were taken out, we didn’t know what the hell was happening.”

Ms Posner revealed that her father created a plan for her to escape the Ghetto, which began with creating a fake passport and acquiring her work as a slave labourer in a nearby leather goods factory. She recalled being physically assaulted in the factory. 

One day, Ms Posner’s aunt decided that they would both escape the Ghetto during their journey to the factory, by walking across the road to the “Christian” side. 

“She explained to me, ‘Today, we are going to do this. Now, it is dangerous, but don’t be afraid because there is a possibility we will survive…I will watch, and tell you when the time comes to cross the road’. She was watching the two Nazi soldiers and they were obviously very, very careful in watching what was happening.

“They stopped for a cigarette, and so they were talking to one another with their backs turned to the road. When I say this, I still can’t believe that this is not a story, but it actually happened, and she said to me ‘Now, now, just walk down, cross the road. Don’t run, just go and walk. When you feel the time has come, take your band off.”

The band was, in fact, the yellow Star of David armband that Jews were forced to wear during the Holocaust.

“All these years ago, I still can’t believe how lucky we were. We managed to get across to the other side.” 

While Ruth and her aunt managed to escape the Ghetto, she later discovered that her remaining family were murdered in the Treblinka extermination camp. 

Ms Posner and her aunt then lived in hiding using fake names and backstories and posing as Catholics for years, until they participated in an abortive but bloody Polish uprising against the Germans, whereupon they were captured and taken to Germany as Polish prisoners of war, their Jewish identity still a secret.

The Germans, after keeping Ms Posner and her aunt as prisoners for some time, forced them both onto a train. “All of a sudden, we hear strange noises, and they’re airplanes dropping bombs.”

Ms Posner stated that “the Germans were just as frightened as we were, because those were American bombers.”

Amidst the chaos and violence around her, Ms Posner and her aunt made an escape, and they once again found themselves fleeing. They would live with, and work for, German farmers, until the end of the war and the arrival of British and American soldiers. In a remarkable scenario during this period, Ms Posner recounted, she and her aunt found themselves hiding Germans from Allied soldiers.

Speaking on her thoughts and feelings on modern antisemitism, Ms Posner said: “For many years, I didn’t particularly want to talk about my past, and my story. But, this kind of thing, Holocaust denial, I don’t want to talk about it, I want to scream about it.

“When I hear Holocaust denial…it makes me sick. That’s all I can say. There are no words that are going to express the feeling, because words come from thought, and this comes from my innards. I could scream. I wish I could speak to the person who said it. I wish I could actually exchange ideas.”

Ms Posner is also a model in Campaign Against Antisemitism’s current national billboard campaign to raise awareness of antisemitism, a first-of-its-kind for Britain.

The podcast can be listened to here, or watched here.

Podcast Against Antisemitism, produced by Campaign Against Antisemitism, talks to a different guest about antisemitism each week. It streams every Thursday and is available through all major podcast apps and YouTube. You can also subscribe to have new episodes sent straight to your inbox.

Previous guests have included comedian David Baddiel, television personality Robert Rinder, writer Eve Barlow, Grammy-Award-winning singer-songwriter Autumn Rowe, and actor Eddie Marsan.

, ,

Welsh neo-Nazi sentenced to at least six years in prison

A Welsh neo-Nazi has been sentenced to at least six years in prison today, after pleading guilty last July to membership in a proscribed neo-Nazi terror group.

Luca Benincasa, 20, became the first person to be convicted of belonging to the Feuerkrieg Division (FKD) since it was banned in July 2020. He is understood to have been a prominent member of the group.

The group, which mainly exists online, promotes violence and mass murder in pursuit of a race war.

He also pleaded guilty in August to three counts of possessing indecent images of children, one count of possessing an extreme pornographic image and one count of possessing a prohibited image of a child between 29th December 2021 and 1st January 2022.

Mr Benincasa, from Cardiff, was today sentenced at Winchester Crown Court to five years and seven months for the terrorism charges. He must also serve a consecutive eight month sentence for pornographic images charges. He will be jailed in a young offenders’ institution. In addition, he was also given an extended licence period of three years for the terror charges. 

When the police raided Mr Benincasa’s residence, they found a flag depicting the logo of the SS, the Nazi paramilitary organisation, hanging from his bedroom wall, and a Nazi dagger and parts of an SS officer’s uniform, including a hat and a swastika armband, among his possessions. He had reportedly also taken photos of himself on his phone wearing the SS uniform and covering his face, and displaying a Stanley knife, rifle and SS dagger.

His laptop, meanwhile, was found to contain Nazi and neo-Nazi literature and documents. An unfinished “Feuerkrieg Division Handbook” was also discovered, which said that the group does not “encourage” illegal activities” but would not “disavow” a “true warrior” who “takes up arms and fights for the sake of our race”. It listed the Government, anti-fascist activists and journalists as enemies.

On Instagram and Snapchat, Mr Benincasa wrote messages such as: “I’m a neo… nazi” and “I am an extremist I commit multiple acts of hate crimes” and “told my mum I wanna be a terrorist…little does she know I’m currently classed as one already.” Police reportedly also found evidence in Telegram threads that he was “actively recruiting” people to join FKD, telling one applicant, “I usually want to genocide anyone that’s not white.”

Prosecutors described a “manifesto” drafted by Mr Benincasa and seized by police as “extremely racist” and “extremely antisemitic”. During the trial, the court also heard that he browsed the internet for “forced teen porn”, “rape games” and “child sacrifice”. Far-right and Satanic graffiti was also reportedly found at Mr Benincasa’s prison cell at HMP Chelmsford.

Mr Benincasa’s defence barrister told the court that his client’s guilty plea, young age, clear criminal record and likely diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorder should mitigate his sentence.

Sentencing Mr Benincasa today, Judge Jane Miller KC told Mr Benincasa: “By 1st February 2022 you were calling yourself the UK cell leader of FKD and one of its recruiters.” She concluded: “You were clearly a prominent member of the organisation.” She further described the material seized by police as “racist, antisemitic and homophobic” and said that Mr Benincasa’s messages to like-minded people showed him to be “fanatical and single minded.”

Detective Superintendent Mark Pope, of Counter Terrorism Policing Wales who led the investigation, said: “The dangerous nature of the material in Benincasa’s possession cannot be underestimated. This is why it is of such importance to hold to account those who seek to join proscribed organisations and gather material which may be useful to a terrorist. This intelligence-led investigation has resulted in the conviction of a dangerous individual and highlights the commitment by counter terrorism policing to tackle all forms of extremist ideology.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism closely monitors the far-right, which remains a dangerous threat to the Jewish community and other minority groups.

Image credit: Counter Terrorism Policing

, ,

CAA to complain to BBC over Amol Rajan’s apparent minimising of Kanye West antisemitism

On the Today programme, host Amol Rajan appeared to minimise Kanye West’s recent antisemitism scandal.

In an interview with Chuck D from Public Enemy on the BBC’s flagship radio programme on 19th January about hip hop music, which included considered reflections about anti-Black racism, Mr Rajan turned finally to Mr West. When discussing Kanye West, Mr Rajan described him as an “extraordinary musical power” but failed to fully address Mr West’s antisemitism, minimising Mr West’s comments to “promoting some conspiracy theories”, which Mr Rajan then appeared to caveat by pointing out that Mr West has “bi-polar disorder”.

Last year, Mr West denied the Holocaust, described Hitler as a “cool guy”, and said he would go “death con 3 on Jewish people”, among other inflammatory outbursts over an extended period on multiple platforms and channels. Mr West himself described his own comments as “antisemitic”, which Mr Rajan failed to do.

Chuck D then appeared to brush Mr West’s racism aside as mere “showbiz”.

Mr Rajan abjectly failed to address the severity of West’s antisemitic rhetoric, which caused the artist to be dropped by Adidas and other sponsors and partners. This omission was particularly objectionable given how much of the interview lamented other forms of racism.

Polling that we conducted in 2020 for our Antisemitism Barometer already revealed that two thirds of British Jews were deeply concerned by the BBC’s coverage of matters of Jewish concern, and 55% by its handling of antisemitism complaints. It is likely that these figures would be even higher if polled today.

Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors traditional media and regularly holds outlets to account. If members of the public are concerned about reportage in the media, they should contact us at [email protected].

, ,

Candidate on TV show The Apprentice apologises following discovery that his online auction site facilitated sale of Nazi memorabilia

A candidate on the television programme The Apprentice has apologised following the discovery that his online auction site facilitated the sale of a piece of Nazi memorabilia.

Raven Yard Antiques, which is owned by Gregory Ebbs and serves as a marketplace for third parties to auction items, was found to have facilitated the sale of a Nazi German officer’s dress dagger for £725.

Mr Ebbs is a candidate on The Apprentice, the popular BBC reality show hosted by the Jewish businessman and celebrity Sir Alan Sugar.

Following the discovery and prior to the apology, a spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Raven Yard Antiques’ worthy mission is ‘to promote sustainable living’, but it cannot do that while facilitating the sale of artefacts that are synonymous with death. Nazi militaria are reminders of the slaughter of six million Jewish men, women and children. These items belong in a museum, not in the hands of sick collectors acquiring them from an auction house that stands to make a profit from these sales. Sir Alan Sugar, who was recently the victim of criminal antisemitic harassment, would likely take exception to this sort of entrepreneurship. The sale on Gregory Ebbs’ website of a swastika-emblazoned dagger for hundreds of pounds on the day that the first episode of The Apprentice leaves us with many questions for Mr Ebbs.”

Mr Ebbs said: “I in no way condone or wish to be looking to be celebrating this abhorrent and shameful part of history and I apologise for any offence caused. My online business is an antiques marketplace where independent sellers have a platform to sell a wide range of antiques, memorabilia & militaria from many different periods of history. The item in question was sold by a third party vendor. This type of memorabilia is not something I would personally sell or stock. The website is relatively new and I will be looking to implement stricter vetting procedures for third party vendors.”

Image credit: Raven Yard Antiques

, ,

BBC Arabic contributor called for “death to Israel” and described Jewish state as “occupied Palestine” live on air

A regular contributor to BBC Arabic reportedly called for “death to Israel” and described Jewish state as “occupied Palestine” live on air.

Mayssaa Abdul Khalek, a Lebanon-based reporter, also reportedly called for Arab states to attack Israel. These calls appeared on social media alongside links to her broadcasts for the BBC.

Ms Khalek, who identifies herself as a “BBC Arabic co-host”, also described a Hezbollah rocket attack on northern Israel as an attack on “occupied Palestine” in a live report in May 2021. Describing how a Lebanese man had died, she said: “he and a group of youths were hit by RPGs that Israeli military shot at them during their attempt to cross the border fence in front of the imperialist colony of Metula [a town in northern Israel]. These events also come after three rockets were launched yesterday from South Lebanon towards occupied Palestine.”

It is understood that she also used the phrase “occupied Palestinian territories” to describe Israel in a tweet linked to the same broadcast, in apparent contravention of BBC guidelines, but removed the post after being contacted by the JC.

In 2016, she wrote a post online beginning, “Death to Israel,” and continuing: “Is it your business to resist the Arab countries or Israel? Oh, sorry, Israel is an ally of your friend Russia, and they coordinate in the Syrian war.”

Other concerning social media activity includes her “liking” of a tweet commemorating Diaa Hamarsheh, a terrorist who killed after murdering a rabbi, a policemen and three civilians in the Isreli city of Bnei Brak. She has also reportedly spoken of “the enemy, Israel”, 

Ms Khalek’s remarks were translated by CAMERA Arabic and reported by the JC.

A spokesperson for the BBC said: “Mayassa Abdel Khalek is not a BBC News Arabic co-host or presenter. She is a contributor invited on occasion to talk about Lebanon. In a live and brief interview held May 14th 2021, when Ms Abdel Khalek delivered her analysis on rockets fired from Lebanon on May 13th 2021, she should have been challenged when she described Metulla as a ‘colony’. 

“Further, when Ms Abdel Khalek commented on the intended target of the rockets, the presenter should have disputed her remark that they were headed to ‘occupied Palestine’. They were presumably launched towards northern Israel, which the BBC wouldn’t describe as ‘occupied Palestine’.

“We do not ban guests from appearing on the BBC. Careful judgements are made and will continue to be made about the guests we invite on and the context in which we hear from them.”

In December, a Parliamentary inquiry into the BBC’s bias against Jews was announced, following a campaign by the JC. Campaign Against Antisemitism supported those calls.

Polling that we conducted in 2020 for our Antisemitism Barometer already revealed that two thirds of British Jews were deeply concerned by the BBC’s coverage of matters of Jewish concern, and 55% by its handling of antisemitism complaints. It is likely that these figures would be even higher if polled today.

Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors traditional media and regularly holds outlets to account. If members of the public are concerned about reportage in the media, they should contact us at [email protected].

Image credit: JC

, ,

Calls to close so-called “outreach centre” of Iranian Government and terrorist IRGC in north London

There have been calls to close what has been described as an “outreach centre” for the Iranian regime and the Iranian terror group, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), according to the JC.

The Islamic Centre of England, based in Maida Vale in north London, was described as such by Alicia Kearns MP as calls grow for the British Government to proscribe the IRGC as a terrorist organisation. Campaign Against Antisemitism has been among those calling for the ban, and disseminated a dossier to all MPs demonstrating the IRGC’s record of antisemitism.

The Islamic Centre of England, a registered charity, held a vigil for the IRGC terrorist mastermind, Qasem Soleimani, who was assassinated by the United States in 2020, at its West London premises, prompting an investigation by the Charity Commission, which found that the event risked associating the charity with a speaker who may have committed an offence under the Terrorism Acts, as the speaker was filmed during the event appearing to praise and call for support for Mr Soleimani. The trustees failed to intervene or provide a sufficient explanation. The following day, the trustees organised a further event and published statements on its website offering condolence and praise for Soleimani, prompting the Charity Commission to issue an Official Warning.

The Islamic Centre is believed to serve as an office for Iran’s Supreme Leader, and its Director, Seyed Hashem Moosavi, is understood to have been appointed by the regime as a mid-ranking cleric. Mr Moosavi has now stepped down from board of the limited company that runs ICE and as a trustee of its charity. His replacement, Jafar Ali Najm, is the General Secretary and a trustee of Majlis-e-Ulama-e-Shia Europe, a grouping of Islamic scholars that also reportedly praised Soleimani as a martyr. 

The institution also aired an Iranian propaganda film, posted on IRGC websites, featuring children singing a song that referenced an apocalyptic myth about murdering Jews, according to the JC. The Islamic Centre denied that its “local version of the song” carried the same meaning. It also has a history of publishing inflammatory rhetoric about Zionists and extolled Iranian support for the antisemitic terror groups Hamas and Hizballah.

The Islamic Centre is located just minutes from several synagogues in the area.

In response to the calls for its closure, a spokesman for the Islamic Centre of England reportedly told the JC: “I am not here to comment on any statement passed by said personalities. As we are the Charity regulated by the British law. We are nothing to do with what these speakers have said in their past.”

Image credit: Google

, , ,

Sold-out crowd arrives for “CAA presents…An evening with Ben M. Freeman”

Campaign Against Antisemitism hosted a first-of-its-kind sold-out event this past Thursday evening which featured the Jewish author Ben M. Freeman.

The event, “CAA presents…An evening with Ben M. Freeman”, attracted a room full of Jewish young professionals to an east London venue to watch a live interview with Mr Freeman, followed by a question and answers session.

Mr Freeman is a Scottish, gay, Jewish author, activist and educator whose latest book, Reclaiming Our Story: The Pursuit of Jewish Pride, is the second instalment of his seminal manifesto of the modern Jewish Pride movement that has taken the Jewish world by storm.

During the discussion, the educator spoke extensively on antisemitism and how it affects modern Jewish life.

“We cannot be defined by what is done to us,” he said. “We have to define ourselves via our experiences, our identity, our history, our story.

Addressing how antisemitic stereotypes and tropes have led to some Jews viewing their bodies in a negative light, Mr Freeman said: “Antisemitism is a racism…there are many groups that are racialised, and we are one of them…we have to understand that the way that we are treated, that way that we are perceived, the stories that are told about us, they impact us.

“People are told, ‘Oh, you don’t look Jewish,’ and we’re meant to take that as a compliment…the fact that we perceive it as a compliment is deeply, deeply worrying, and is a tragedy for our community.”

Last year, Mr Freeman appeared on an episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism, where he spoke about the importance of having a basic understanding of history and why it is vital in tackling antisemitism. 

The podcast with Mr Freeman can be listened to here, or watched here.

, ,

“They doubled down, unfortunately”: Comedian Josh Howie opens up about friendships ending over antisemitism

Josh Howie, a Jewish comedian and writer who has starred in BBC Radio 4 and Netflix sitcoms, appeared on the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism where he discussed how antisemitism has affected his friendships with fellow performers.

“Amongst comics, more [are aware of antisemitism] now, but it was much worse. There are big name comics, and there are people who wrote some outrageous stuff [online]…never acknowledged it, never apologised for it.”

Mr Howie lamented at what he felt was a hypocrisy among certain comedians who advocate allyship toward other marginalised groups, but then spew “outright racism against Jews”. 

Mr Howie noted instances of fellow comedians making antisemitic statements without consequence, including one which resulted in a comic’s antisemitic rhetoric being challenged. 

“There’s about ten Jewish comics at the circuit level, [they] all confronted him, very public thing. The guy didn’t lose any work, no promoters were like ‘This needs to be challenged.’ He said it, didn’t apologise, no one cares. That’s the reality of it,” he said.   

The comedian revealed that some of his friendships with fellow performers have ended due to their unapologetic antisemitic statements. 

“I’m a little bit sore about the whole thing. I’m sore to comedians who I thought would take a stand and didn’t.”

He added: “I really thought when the [Equality and Human Rights Commission] dropped it’s findings, I really thought there were some people, good friends of mine who had stopped being part of my life, would go ‘I’m sorry’, but at that point, they doubled down, unforunately.

“And that’s very sad, but that’s the way it is. I’ve lost friends, but I’ve made new friends.”

Throughout the interview, Mr Howie also discussed a variety of other topics, including what it was like speaking out about antisemitism in Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party.

This podcast can be listened to here, or watched here.

Podcast Against Antisemitism, produced by Campaign Against Antisemitism, talks to a different guest about antisemitism each week. It streams every Thursday and is available through all major podcast apps and YouTube. You can also subscribe to have new episodes sent straight to your inbox.

Previous guests have included comedian David Baddiel, television personality Robert Rinder, writer Eve Barlow, Grammy-Award-winning singer-songwriter Autumn Rowe, and actor Eddie Marsan.

, ,

Man who believed “Jewish elite” controls government jailed for six-and-a-half years on terror charges

A man who believed that the government is controlled by a “Jewish elite” has been jailed for six-and-a-half years on terror charges.

At the Birmingham Crown Court trial last year, Oliver Lewin, 38, from Coalville, Leicestershire, was found guilty of preparing terrorist acts.

The verdict came despite Mr Lewin’s denial that he was planning on carrying out reconnaissance of potential targets, buying equipment, creating hideouts, and attempting to recruit others.

The defendant’s targets included transmitter masts and transport infrastructure.

Mr Lewin was said to have posted messages in a channel on the social media platform Telegram, which had been infiltrated by police officers, where he issued a “call to arms” and suggested “fire-bombing” sheds in the Sutton Coldfield of Birmingham.

During the trial last year, prosecutor Annabel Darlow KC said: “That is one of the UK’s most important transmission sites and is in fact the main broadcasting site for the Birmingham and West Midlands area, supporting TV and radio broadcasting services for many millions of users.”

Ms Darlow added that “Mr Lewin, in fact, stated his goal was to topple the British government. He believed that it was dominated by a Jewish elite who took orders from Israel…He saw the spread of coronavirus across the world as triggering what he termed the emergence of a Chinese Communist system.”

Mr Lewin reportedly admitted that he had purchased equipment, however, he allegedly told officers that he had no intention of carrying out an attack, arguing that he was just a “fantasist” engaging in “role play”.

According to the prosecution, Mr Lewin additionally said that he believed “white people across Europe were being systematically killed by the vaccine” in a “planned genocide”.

During a search of Mr Lewin’s address, police discovered an uncompleted manual, entitled “Civilian Resistance Operations Manual”. 

In the manual, Mr Lewin wrote: “What we can be certain of is that we are seeing the emergence of a Chinese Communist system that is ever accelerating with rapidity. We are not a Communist country and should fight with everything we have to prevent it.”

After the trial, West Midlands Head of Counter Terrorism policing Detective Chief Superintendent Mark Payne, said: “Lewin claimed he was a fantasist but it is clear he took the steps to carry out reconnaissance of targets to attack, bought equipment and tools, dug hide-outs and tried to recruit and train others. 

“He wanted to advance a political cause by damaging property and wiping out media organisations. Extremists use this kind of ideology to create discord, distrust and fear among our communities and we strive to counter this.”

Last year, a study found that about half of all references to the Holocaust on the encrypted messaging service, Telegram, either distort the facts about the genocide of the Jewish people, or deny that it happened at all.

Campaign Against Antisemitism closely monitors the far-right, which remains a dangerous threat to the Jewish community and other minority groups.

Image credit: West Midlands Police

, ,

CAA writes to Julie Morgan MS over invitation to Holocaust Memorial Day commemoration that omits reference to Jews

Campaign Against Antisemitism has written to a member of the Welsh Parliament after she issued an invitation to a Holocaust Memorial Day commemoration that omitted any reference to Jewish victims of the Nazis.

In her invitation, Julie Morgan MS, a member of the Welsh Labour Party, referenced Gypsies, Roma and Travellers and emphasised that the event was about “Remembering All”, but made no reference at all to Jews.

While other minorities suffered brutal treatment at the hands of the Nazi regime, an estimated six million Jewish men, women and children were murdered by the Nazis, representing around a third of the entire global population. It was for the systematic and industrial slaughter of the Jews by the Nazis that the word “genocide” was coined and to which the term “Holocaust” principally refers.

There has been a long and absurd trend of dissociating the Jews from the Holocaust and its commemoration. The Welsh Labour Party must give no suggestion that it participates in or endorses this trend. This is particularly so given the recent scandals that have engulfed the national Labour Party with regard to its relationship with the Jewish community.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has written to Ms Morgan calling for the invitation to be amended to include a reference to the primary victims of the Holocaust, and urged that memorialising the murder of Jews remains at the heart of what this important day signifies and teaches.

Ms Morgan is the Deputy Minister for Social Services, and Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford has been notified.

A spokesperson for Ms Morgan reportedly said: “This is a long-standing annual event being sponsored in Julie Morgan MS’s capacity as an individual Senedd Member. The event has always received cross-party support and ties in with the annual Holocaust Memorial Day event at the Senedd. This is an inclusive event, and as the invitation makes clear, the event aims to remember all victims of the Holocaust, including those who can often be forgotten about.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.

UPDATE: Ms Morgan has apologised and re-issued the invitation.

, ,

TikTok prankster reportedly arrested for “assaulting a member of the Jewish community”

A TikTok user whose videos involve him performing pranks on members of the public has reportedly been arrested for “assaulting a member of the Jewish community”.

The user, whose real name is Bacari Ogarro but goes by the online name ‘Mizzy’, appeared to confirm on his Instagram account that he had been arrested by posting an image of the police statement, adding that he had been held for 36 hours by police for a video involving an identifiably Jewish boy last year.

According to the police statement, the arrest was “a result of the Shomrim notifying police and sharing footage of the assault which has been circulated on social media.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism works closely with Shomrim, with whom we have a data-sharing agreement.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over five hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than five times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

, ,

“It’s not your religion, it’s the Black Hebrews’”: Identifiably Jewish family reportedly abused on London bus

Video footage on Twitter appears to show a Jewish mother and her children, one of whom is believed to be a three-year-old, being yelled at on a London bus.

In the extended footage seen by Campaign Against Antisemitism, a man appears to shout: “It’s not your religion, it’s the Black Hebrews’. You keep it from them.”

A woman can be heard calling to the driver “Can you open the door please?” while the man continues yelling next to the identifiably Jewish children.

The alleged incident occurred on the 67 bus and was reported by Stamford Hill Shomrim, the Jewish volunteer neighbourhood watch patrol.

If you have any more information, please contact the police on 101 or Stamford Hill Shomrim on 0300 999 0123, quoting reference number: CHS 28280 19/01/23

Campaign Against Antisemitism works closely with Shomrim, with whom we have a data-sharing agreement.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over five hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than five times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

, ,

“You Jews have money”: Jewish man reportedly abused on way home from synagogue

A Jewish man was reportedly abused on his way home from attending a synagogue last night when someone allegedly yelled at him: “You Jews have money.”

The alleged incident occurred in Clapton Common and was reported by Stamford Hill Shomrim, the Jewish volunteer neighbourhood watch patrol.

If you have any more information, please contact the police on 101 or Stamford Hill Shomrim on 0300 999 0123, quoting reference number: CHS 25206 19/01/23

Campaign Against Antisemitism works closely with Shomrim, with whom we have a data-sharing agreement.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over five hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than five times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

,

Prospective director for free speech on university campuses denounced International Definition of Antisemitism

The prospective director for free speech on university campuses, a new role to be implemented by the Government, was discovered to have denounced the International Definition of Antisemitism.

Arif Ahmed, a philosophy professor at the University of Cambridge, reportedly issued a blog post in February 2021 in which he sharply criticised the Definition.

He wrote: “I am strongly against Gavin Williamson’s requirement that universities adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism….This ‘definition’ is nothing of the kind; adopting it obstructs perfectly legitimate defence of Palestinian rights.”

He added: “As such it chills free speech on a matter of the first importance. I hope the Secretary of State reconsiders the need for it; but these new free speech duties ought to rule it out in any case.”

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected]. 

, , ,

CAA launches Britain’s first-ever national billboard campaign as latest Home Office figures show Jews are 500% more likely to suffer hate crime

Today, Campaign Against Antisemitism has launched Britain’s first-ever national billboard campaign seeking the public’s support against antisemitism after the most recent Home Office figures showed that Jews are 500% more likely to suffer hate crime than any other faith group per capita.

The striking digital billboards can be seen right across the country, including in prominent locations in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow and other major cities.

We are calling on people to stand with the Jewish community by using the #StandWithJews hashtag on social media. Members of the Jewish community can highlight their own experiences of antisemitism using the #BecauseImJewish hashtag. We may share any posts that tag us using @antisemitism.

The billboards also challenge preconceptions and prejudices about what it means to ‘look Jewish’ with the models reflecting the diverse backgrounds of Britain’s Jewish community.

All of the Jewish models who appear on the billboards might be targeted for any of the protected characteristics that they possess — or may appear to possess — but what all the models share is that they, like all British Jews, are on average 500% more likely to be the target of a hate crime because they are Jewish, compared to any other faith group.

The models include a Holocaust survivor who has been left sickened by the targeting of Jews in modern-day Britain, recent immigrants to the UK and, it is believed for the first time ever on a British billboard, a member of the Charedi Jewish community, which bears so much of the brunt of violent antisemitic crime.

Gideon Falter, Chief Executive of Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “People are utterly appalled when we tell them quite how much Jews are targeted by hate crime. The UK is a fundamentally decent and tolerant place, and one of the best countries in the world to live as a Jew, but we still suffer racism and attacks every day simply because we are Jewish. Jews make up barely 0.5% of the national population and the solidarity of good people who are willing to stand up to hatred and #StandWithJews means a great deal to our community and shows the racists that they cannot win.”

We would like to express our thanks to Ocean Outdoor for providing the space on these billboards for such an important cause, particularly as we approach Holocaust Memorial Day, and we are profoundly grateful to those who have contributed their time to the making of this campaign, including designers, photographers, makeup and wardrobe. Finally, we would like to thank the models who are all members of the Jewish community who believe in the importance of standing up to antisemitic hate crime.

Image credit: Nathan Lilienfeld

,

Arsenal supporter called “dirty f***ing Yid” at Islington pub

It has been reported that, during a football game broadcast at a pub, an Arsenal supporter was asked to leave after being called a “dirty f***ing Yid”. 

According to the JC, during a live broadcast of a football game between Arsenal Football Club and Tottenham Hotspur Football Club at the Cally pub in Islington, Katie Price, a Jewish Arsenal supporter told fellow Arsenal fans to stop using the word “Yiddo” in football chants.

Rather than apologise, however, one fan came back with another man and shouted, “you dirty f***ing Yid” at the victim. The matter proceeded to escalate into an altercation, with the victim allegedly being violently threatened and told, “I’ll f***ing come for you, dirty Yid.”

The victim was then asked to leave the pub by the manager, despite explaining what had happened. Following her exit from the pub, the victim reportedly heard further chants of “off you go, Yiddo” coming from the premises. 

The incident has been reported to the police.

In 2020, CAA wrote to Oxford English Dictionary to have the word “Yiddo” edited to include the controversy over its use and pejorative connotation when used by football clubs.

Campaign Against Antisemitism continues to report on and act against instances of anti-Jewish racism in all sports.

Image credit: Google

,

Journalist who allegedly called Holocaust a “myth” mentored students at University of Westminster

A journalist who reportedly called the Holocaust a “myth” mentored students at the University of Westminster, according to the JC.

Motasem Ahmed Dalloul, who works as the Gaza correspondent of Middle East Monitor, a news site backed by the Qatari Government, reportedly provided career advice to students in the 2021-22 academic year.

In November 2014, Mr Dalloul allegedly shared an article about Germany’s decision not to recognise a state of Palestine, writing: “They nurtured the myth of the Holocaust and then they continue supporting the Zionists!!”

In 2014, he reportedly claimed: “Israeli occupation is crueller on Palestinians than Hitler persecution to Jews.”

In June 2016, he reportedly shared a link to an article published by a website called Days of Palestine, which he apparently co-founded. The page was titled “A 91-year-old Jew admits telling lies about Holocaust” and recounted the story of Joseph Hirt, who in 2016 admitted that he had lied about escaping Auschwitz. The article claimed that “This adds more reasons to review the facts about the Holocaust,” and Mr Dalloul shared the article on Twitter with a photo of Mr Hirt and allegedly wrote: “This adds more question marks ahead of what is called a Holocaust.”

In 2017, two days after three Israeli civilians were stabbed to death, Mr Dalloul allegedly wrote on social media: “Resisting occupation with all available means, including armed struggle is legitimate based on inte’l law. #ResistanceIsNotTerrorism.” When another user responded, “Walking into a home and stabbing three innocent people in the middle of dinner is not remotely equal to ‘resistance’. Terrorism is terrorism,” Mr Dalloul reportedly replied: “No, they live in occupied land, they’ve served in army, killed Palestinians, innocent Jews live in their home countries, not others’ countries.”

According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Calling for, aiding, or justifying the killing or harming of Jews in the name of a radical ideology or an extremist view of religion,” “Accusing the Jews as a people, or Israel as a state, of inventing or exaggerating the Holocaust,” and “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” are all examples of antisemitism.

The University of Westminster has adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism.

Mr Dalloul graduated from the University of Westminster, following which he worked as a staff writer at Middle East Monitor and contributed to Middle East Eye and TRT World. He was awarded a certificate of participation signed by Vice-Chancellor Dr Peter Bonfield and Caroline Lloyd, the University’s Director of Student Services, in spite of his history of inflammatory statements.

Motasem Dalloul reportedly told the JC: “All what you said is fake. I’m actually against the Zionist-Israeli occupation of Palestine, but don’t deny anyone’s pain and suffering.”

Binyomin Gilbert, Programme Manager at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “It is deplorable that the wellbeing of Jewish students at the University of Westminster seems to be playing second fiddle to a desire to tolerate those whose rhetoric has been so inflammatory.

“According to our 2021 Antisemitism Barometer, a staggering 92% of British Jews believe that antisemitism in British universities is a problem, with 84% believing that it is a ‘very big problem’ or ‘quite a big problem’. One need only to look at the example set by the University of Westminster to see why.

“The University has adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism. Now it is time to enforce it and prove that it is serious about protecting its Jewish students.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors the adoption of the International Definition of Antisemitismby universities.

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].

Image credit: JC

, ,

Leading travel firm apologises after using smiley-face emojis to promote Auschwitz tours even after apologising for doing so in the past

A leading travel firm is reportedly once again using smiley-face emojis to promote tours to the Auschwitz death camp even after the company was reportedly forced to apologise for doing so in the past.

Hays Travel has apologised for a second time after it was discovered that it once again used the jovial imagery on Facebook to promote the tours, which it listed along with trips to Disneyland and the Grand Canyon.

Hays Travel said: “We are very sorry to have caused offence especially after we tried to ensure it wouldn’t happen again. As soon as this was brought to our attention we immediately removed these posts from Facebook.”

According to the JC, the Advertising Standards Authority said that it took “this particular issue very seriously and recognise that this obviously has the potential to prompt concerns,” adding that its rules say that advertisements “should not contain anything likely to cause harm or offence.” It has the power to order advertisers to remove materials.

Hays Travel has over 450 branches across the UK.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Having already apologised for the grotesque and insulting use of smiley face emojis in its advertising, Hays Travel’s apparent continuation of this practice is either a sign of very disturbing malice or astonishing incompetence. Neither recommend the agency. Not only must Hays apologise again and explain how it has come to continue portraying Auschwitz as some sort of theme park through the use of these emojis, but customers may begin to make up their own minds about whether this is the sort of establishment where they wish to take their business.”

Image credit: JC

, ,

“Heil Hitler” reportedly shouted at Jewish children in North London

It was reported that occupants of a black car yelled “Heil Hitler” at Jewish pedestrians in North London. 

Children were believed to have been present at the time.

The alleged incident occurred in Clapton Common and was reported by Stamford Hill Shomrim, the Jewish volunteer neighbourhood watch patrol.

If you have any more information, please contact the police on 101 or Stamford Hill Shomrim on 0300 999 0123, quoting reference number: 4600863/23

Campaign Against Antisemitism works closely with Shomrim, with whom we have a data-sharing agreement.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over five hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than five times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

,

Police investigating following footage of man’s crazed rant on London Underground

Police are investigating after footage of a man’s crazed rant on the London Underground surfaced online.

In the footage, a man can be seen shouting on a Jubilee line carriage and appears to be pointing to someone off-screen.

In the video, he appears to shout: “You’re going to hand over Palestine to me…you f***ing paedophile tramp. Israeli wankers will be executed in the streets of London… you pedophile tramp.”

The man then seemed to shout “wallahi” three times, a common Islamic phrase that can be translated as “I swear to Allah”.

He continued: “All you Israeli w****** are going to be…executed on the streets of London, you f***ing paedophile tramps.”

British Transport Police responded to the video confirming that an investigation into the matter had commenced.

, ,

Anonymous letter in Church Times movingly recounts experience of Jewish exclusion

An anonymous letter in the Church Times has provided a moving account of a personal experience of Jewish exclusion.

In a letter published on 6th January, the writer, who identifies as “a vicar of Jewish heritage”, recalled: “At a recent diocesan conference, I sat a table with others from minority-ethnic backgrounds. They told me with excitement that, following the report From Lament to Action, they had set up a group to support those clergy from minority-ethnic backgrounds.

“‘This sounds really good!’ I exclaimed. ‘As someone from Jewish heritage, can I join the group?’ The answer, I was told, was ‘No!’

“They told me that they had discussed this issue, but the group decided that, as Jews were rich, well educated, and involved in the persecution of the Palestinian peoples, they should be excluded from the group.

The writer concluded by suggesting that David Baddiel’s assertion that “Jews don’t count” is “sadly correct”.

Campaign Against Antisemitism works to raise awareness of antisemitism among all faith and minority communities.

, , , , ,

Award-winning French Jewish filmmaker Amanda Sthers reveals she left France due to antisemitism

Amanda Sthers, the award-winning French author, playwright, and filmmaker whose critically acclaimed work has earned her the title Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres from the Government of France, appeared on the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism where she has revealed that she left her home country due to antisemitism.

Ms Sthers, herself a Jewish person in the public eye, is no stranger to experiences of antisemitism.

“I always feel that every time there is a very strong increase [in] antisemitic incidents, democracy’s in danger,” she said.

According to France’s Jewish Community Security Service, antisemitic incidents in France skyrocketed by 75% in 2021. 

Additionally, last year saw three reported murders of French Jews. Eyal Haddad, 34, from the town of Longperrier, north-east of Paris, was said to have been brutally murdered with an axe before the alleged perpetrator reportedly attempted to burn his face and bury the body, while Rene Hadjaj, 90, was allegedly defenestrated from an apartment block in Lyon.

Jeremy Cohen, 31, was fatally wounded after being hit by a tram. At first, Mr Cohen’s death was treated as a traffic accident, until video footage released by the family appeared to show a group of men attacking Mr Cohen, who is believed to have been wearing his kippah, or skullcap, prompting him to flee for safety without noticing the tram. He was then taken to the hospital but did not survive his injuries.

Our host asked Ms Sthers: “How concerned are you about antisemitism in France right now? Is it something you think about?”

“Yeah. I think about it so much that I left,” the filmmaker responded. “I left seven years ago. I live in LA now, and I have a hard time feeling at home in France anymore. And it’s very heartbreaking…it’s really hard for me because I can feel in the air that there’s something really hateful.”

While Ms Sthers acknowledges the ongoing threat of far-right groups, she believes that the recent spike in antisemitism is partly due to emerging conspiracy theories about Jews and Islamist ideology.

She continued: “France is not a safe place for Jewish people anymore, and I don’t understand how the government doesn’t want to say more about it…they are putting the entire nation in danger by not trying to keep Jews safe in their country. And I’m saying in ‘their country’, I still have a passport but I just don’t feel that it’s my country anymore.”

Commenting on how life is different for her in the United States, she noted how she felt as though her Judaism was not “a question that you had to avoid.”

“I remember the first time they [said] ‘Oh, you’re Jewish!’, it was not the same tone that was used in France.”

However, Ms Sthers was mindful to point out that, for Jewish people, “it’s not heaven in the States, either.”

“Lately, it’s changing. I think the pandemic increased [the amount of] antisemitic incidents, increased a lot of paranoia. Every time there’s a crisis, antisemitism is increasing,” she said.

Ms Sthers also pointed to the antisemitic statements made by rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West. 

Despite the increase in antisemitic incidents in the United States, Ms Sthers’ experiences in France have led her to feel safer in her new home.

“I remember in Paris, I was always telling my sons, ‘Don’t mention your bar mitzvah when we’re in the taxi, just be careful, just stay low-profile,’ because I was afraid for them,” she disclosed.

Throughout the interview, Ms Sthers also discussed a variety of other topics, including her award-winning film Holy Lands, how to tackle antisemitism through art, and her experience of working with the late Jewish film icon, James Caan.

This podcast can be listened to here, or watched here.

Podcast Against Antisemitism, produced by Campaign Against Antisemitism, talks to a different guest about antisemitism each week. It streams every Thursday and is available through all major podcast apps and YouTube. You can also subscribe to have new episodes sent straight to your inbox.

Previous guests have included comedian David Baddiel, television personality Robert Rinder, writer Eve Barlow, Grammy-Award-winning singer-songwriter Autumn Rowe, and actor Eddie Marsan.

, , ,

Following input from CAA, UJS and others, independent report into NUS finds it created “hostile environment” for Jewish students and calls for major reforms

Rebecca Tuck KC has published her much-anticipated report, providing the clearest assessment of antisemitism at the National Union of Students (NUS) to date.

The report, which follows an investigation into which Campaign Against Antisemitism, the Union of Jewish Students (UJS) and others provided input, observes that NUS allowed the development of a “hostile environment” for Jewish students, with instances in which Jewish students were “subjected to harassment” likely to be in breach of the Equality Act 2010, in addition to NUS’s own code of conduct. It rightly recognises that there has been a “poor relationship” between NUS and Jewish students for a long time.

Gideon Falter, Chief Executive of Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “Rebecca Tuck KC’s report is exceptionally important in vindicating the experiences of Jewish students over many years, finding that NUS has created a ‘hostile environment’ for Jewish students. The Tuck Report draws heavily on CAA’s research and our extensive contributions to the investigation. It is scathing and clearly evidenced. It must become NUS’s roadmap.

“If the removal of Shaima Dallali as NUS President was an encouraging first step, this report is a second. We support the recommendations that the report proposes, which, if implemented, will help steer NUS down a better path.

“However, we have been here before: this is at least the third major report into NUS’s relations with Jewish students in twenty years, and, whatever their merits, those reports failed to overcome the personnel and institutional problems that have plagued NUS, with Jewish students bearing the impact. NUS must not only implement the Tuck Report’s specific recommendations but must introduce measures to monitor and assess progress. We will continue to help Jewish students, including by providing them with free legal representation, and hold NUS to account to ensure that the body that is meant to represent all students finally recognises that that includes Jews.”

Ms Tuck drew on Campaign Against Antisemitism’s input and past research, including our annual Antisemitism Barometer survey of the Jewish community.

The report recommends improvements in NUS’s record-keeping, elections, due diligence of candidates, and code of conduct complaints. It also calls for antisemitism training and the provision of educational materials,,  and a governance review. Ms Tuck also advises improvements in discussions about Israel, including the inclusion of an “experienced facilitator” in such debates.

Importantly, the report also calls for the establishment of an advisory panel to ensure the implementation of the recommendations and for a survey of Jewish students to test that implementation, which were among the suggestions made to Ms Tuck by Campaign Against Antisemitism to ensure the durability of any recommendations that the report made. Indeed Ms Tuck observed how the recommendations of past reports relating to NUS have often not been implemented, a point that we stressed to her.

The announcement of Ms Tuck’s investigation in April came after Robert Halfon MP (then the Chair of the Education Select Committee) wrote together with Campaign Against Antisemitism to the Charity Commission calling for an investigation into the union’s charitable arm, which the Commission agreed to launch. The full dossier on NUS, produced by Campaign Against Antisemitism, can be read here.

In addition, over twenty former NUS Presidents wrote a letter expressing their “serious concerns about antisemitism”, and another letter, organised by UJS and signed by over 1,000 Jewish students and allies, called for NUS to launch an independent investigation.

Since the investigation was announced, Shaima Dallali, the President of NUS, has been removed from her position amidst allegations of antisemitism. This was the first time in the Union’s 100-year history that a President has been removed.

In a letter to Campaign Against Antisemitism, NUS confirmed that its own investigation — which is independent of Ms Tuck’s and is still ongoing — had “found that significant breaches of NUS’ policies have taken place” and that consequently “we have terminated the President’s contract.” Ms Dallali is still able to appeal this decision.

There have been numerous controversies involving NUS over the past twelve months. In one scandal, the rapper Kareem Dennis, known as Lowkey, was due to headline NUS’s centenary conference last month. After initially dismissing the concerns of Jewish students, who pointed out the rapper’s inflammatory record, the union came under media scrutiny and eventually Mr Dennis withdrew from the event. As the scandal erupted, Robert Halfon MP excoriated NUS for failing to send a representative to attend a hearing held by the Education Select Committee, which he chairs.

This scandal was immediately followed by the election of Shaima Dallali as NUS’s new President, despite her history of antisemitic tweets and other inflammatory social media posts. Ms Dallali was forced to apologise for tweeting the words of an antisemitic chant. In 2012, during an escalation of tensions between Israel and the antisemitic genocidal terrorist group Hamas, Ms Dallali tweeted the words “Khaybar Khaybar, ya yahud, Jaish Muhammad, sa yahud.” Translated into English, this chant means “Jews, remember the battle of Khaybar, the army of Muhammad is returning.” It is a classic Arabic battle cry referencing the massacre and expulsion of the Jews of the town of Khaybar in northwestern Arabia, now Saudi Arabia, in the year 628 CE.

These scandals come after decades of atrocious relations between NUS and Jewish students. Ms Tuck’s investigation is at least the third major such inquiry into NUS’s relations with Jewish students in the last twenty years.

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].

, ,

CCTV footage appears to show man spraying liquid onto Jewish mother and child

CCTV footage released online appears to show a man spraying a liquid onto a Jewish mother and child.

In the footage, a woman can be seen pushing a small child in a pram whilst speaking on the phone. 

On the left of the screen, it then appears that a man wearing a baseball cap walks past the woman and sprays her with a liquid from a can in his hand. 

The woman can then be seen to have stopped walking in order to turn around and look at the man. 

The alleged incident occurred in Stamford Hill and was reported by Stamford Hill Shomrim, the Jewish volunteer neighbourhood watch patrol, who has said that the man threw beer over the mother and child.

If you have any more information, please contact the police on 101 or Stamford Hill Shomrim on 0300 999 0123, quoting reference number: CAD 720 06/01/23

Campaign Against Antisemitism works closely with Shomrim, with whom we have a data-sharing agreement.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

, ,

Conservatives right to remove whip from Andrew Bridgen MP after he compared COVID-19 vaccines to the Holocaust

The Conservatives have removed the whip from Andrew Bridgen MP after he appeared to compare COVID-19 vaccines to the Holocaust.

In a tweet published this morning, Mr Bridgen posted an article about the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, the lead American agency handling the US response to the pandemic. The article analysed reports made to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System which apparently indicate side-effects of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines.

In his tweet captioning the article, he wrote: “As one consultant cardiologist said to me this is the biggest crime against humanity since the holocaust.”

During and since the pandemic, anti-lockdown and anti-vaccination networks have become known as hotbeds of antisemitic conspiracy theories and tropes, including baseless and grotesque allusions to the Holocaust.

The Conservatives have quickly removed the whip from Mr Bridgen, but the tweet is still live at time of writing. Simon Hart, the Chief Whip, said: “Misinformation about the vaccine causes harm and costs lives. I am removing the Whip from Andrew Bridgen with immediate effect, pending a formal investigation.”

In 2014, Mr Bridgen attracted controversy when he suggested that “the political system of the world’s superpower and our great ally the United States is very susceptible to well-funded powerful lobbying groups and the power of the Jewish lobby in America.”

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “The Jewish community has sadly become used to ugly and frankly moronic comparisons between the worldwide response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Holocaust. Regardless of one’s sentiments about the appropriateness or efficacy of lockdowns and vaccines, there is no equation with the deliberate and industrial slaughter of six million innocent men, women and children simply because they were Jewish. For a senior backbench politician not to understand this elemental fact is a poor reflection on the Conservatives and British politics.

“Mr Bridgen must immediately apologise and demonstrate that he understands why his tweet is so appalling. The Party is right to withhold the whip, and it must now disclose what further steps it intends to take.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.

, ,

Jewish family reportedly harassed by gang members in Stamford Hill

A Jewish family has reportedly been on the receiving end of targeted harassment by gang members in Stamford Hill.

The gang is believed to be associated with the nearby Webb Estate and is accused of harassing Jewish residents for years.

The alleged incident occurred in Stamford Hill and was reported by Stamford Hill Shomrim, the Jewish volunteer neighbourhood watch patrol.

If you have any more information, please contact the police on 101 or Stamford Hill Shomrim on 0300 999 0123, quoting reference number: CAD 4151 09/01/23

Campaign Against Antisemitism works closely with Shomrim, with whom we have a data-sharing agreement.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

, ,

Man arrested after reportedly yelling “I am going to blow the place up” in Stamford Hill synagogue and school

A man reportedly entered a synagogue and school in Stamford Hill and yelled: “I am going to blow the place up.”

A suspect was shortly arrested thereafter.

The alleged incident occurred in Stamford Hill and was reported by Stamford Hill Shomrim, the Jewish volunteer neighbourhood watch patrol.

If you have any more information, please contact the police on 101 or Stamford Hill Shomrim on 0300 999 0123, quoting reference number: CAD 4645 10/01/23

Campaign Against Antisemitism works closely with Shomrim, with whom we have a data-sharing agreement.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

, ,

Conspiracy theorist who admitted defacing seventeen bus stops in London with graffiti, including the words “Jews and gays are aliens”, is cleared of stirring up racial hatred

A conspiracy theorist who admitted defacing seventeen bus stops in London with graffiti, including the words “Jews and gays are aliens”, has been cleared of stirring up racial hatred.

Nicholas Lalchan, 47, from Edmonton, London, used a black marker pen to deface the bus stops, causing £100 of damage each time.

When he was charged, Mr Lalchan, who is Canadian, allegedly said: “New world order. The fourth Reich. We will see.”

Mr Lalchan was convicted of stirring up racial hatred by a jury at Aldersgate House Nightingale Court in central London in September 2021, having admitted possessing a marker pen with intent to cause criminal damage and being convicted of doing so with racial or religious motivation, which he had denied.

When police searched his home, they reportedly found leaflets, marker pens, maps of bus routes and a USB stick containing pictures that referenced Jewish people and conspiracy theories.

Judge Gerard Pounder told Mr Lalchan: “All it takes is for a small Jewish child to see this, and for them to get very upset. You were deliberately hostile and you aimed it at a specific group of people, whether that be gay people, a Jewish priest [sic] or Jewish people.”

Mr Lalchan’s lawyers then appealed against his conviction for stirring up racial hatred.

In the most recent trial, Prosecutor David Patience told the court: “It is not in dispute that Mr Lalchan wrote the graffiti on the bus stops. He admitted that in the witness box. That written material was clearly threatening, abusive or insulting. 

“The most obvious example I suggest is the phrase ‘Jews and gays are grey aliens’…Hatred of Jews is part and parcel of his belief system in relation to the new world order.”

According to Mr Patience, antisemitic cartoons had been founded downloaded on Mr Lalchan’s computer.

“The graffiti differed slightly from bus stop. It referred, the prosecution say, to bizarre conspiracy theories,” Mr Patience said, adding that the graffiti “encouraged people to search on YouTube and Google to find out about [the theories].”

The graffiti reportedly included references to “the Rothchild Trillions”, “Talmud quote” and “child rape assembly line”, as well as: “Beware malevolent aliens e.g. Jews and gays.”

Mr Patience added that “This graffiti was daubed on bus stops in areas of north west London, which the prosecution suggest have large Jewish communities, such as Edgware, Hendon, Finchley. It was seen by Jewish people, and others, who were distressed by what they saw and reported it to the police.”

Kerry Moore, defending, said that Mr Lalchan “puts Jews and gays together. That is not an ethnic group. Gays are not an ethnic group.”

Mr Lalchan told the court that “We’re in the trap and they’re closing the lid. They’re in control of the finances, in control of Facebook, the media…As a Christian, Jesus Christ is my messiah so I’m trying to get people who don’t believe in God.”

He added that the New World Order is “a socialist, communist kind of thing” which is “in control of the world’s economy, control the money, and control the people.”

Mr Moore said “If it was truly [Mr Lalchan’s] motivation to combat and deal with a new world order to convert people to Christianity then his intention was not to stir up racial hatred,” adding that “’His obsession is religious, not racial.”

The jury failed to reach a verdict against him on the charge of racially or religiously aggravated criminal damage, and so the count was dropped by the prosecution.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

, ,

CAA writes to all MPs calling on them to support Government’s proposal to proscribe antisemitic Islamist terrorist group IRGC

Campaign Against Antisemitism has written to all MPs calling on them to back the Government’s reported proposal to proscribe the antisemitic Islamist terrorist group known as the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) under the Terrorism Act 2000.

We have provided the Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, and the Security Minister, Tom Tugendhat, and all MPs with a dossier on the IRGC, detailing its horrendous record of antisemitism and violence against Jewish people.

The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran has a long and appalling record of promoting antisemitic propaganda, including Holocaust-denial, and funding and orchestrating violence against Jews. This is in addition to being the world’s biggest state-sponsor of terrorism more generally, the effects of which are not only profound in the Middle East but felt on every continent in the world. According to our nation’s security chiefs, Iran directly threatens the UK.

But what is less known is that it is specifically the IRGC that is one of the principal instruments through which the Iranian regime carries out these endeavours.

Founded in 1979 by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the IRGC is a paramilitary force that answers directly to the radical regime. Its purpose is to serve as a praetorian guard for the theocracy at home and to advance its interests abroad. That includes training, arming and supporting terrorist groups and encouraging strategic acts of terror against targets deemed hostile to the Islamic Republic.

The IRGC has a paramount role in cultivating antisemitic sentiment, giving succour to antisemites and backing terrorism against Jews.

The IRGC is a vital organ pumping out antisemitic propaganda in Iran and through the Middle East, it emboldens those who wish harm to Jewish people in the name of extremist religion, and it is the indispensable patron of such antisemitic genocidal terrorist groups as Hizballah and Hamas, both of which are proscribed by the UK.

It is therefore right for Britain to recognise the antisemitism and broader malevolence at the core of the IRGC and move to proscribe the IRGC as a terrorist organisation as well.

Over the years, particularly recently, evidence has mounted of support for the IRGC in Britain, some of which has been directly documented by Campaign Against Antisemitism and is especially concerning when considered in the context of the high rate of domestic antisemitism.

The proscription of the IRGC-backed Islamist terrorist group Hizballah in 2019, which was followed by the outlawing of Hamas in 2021 — the culmination of years of campaigning by Campaign Against Antisemitism and others — can serve as a case study for a similar ban of the IRGC.

Just as the proscription of Hizballah and Hamas sent a powerful message to the Jewish community — and Islamists — that antisemitism and terrorism will not be tolerated in the UK, so would the proscription of the IRGC, particularly at a time of record-breaking antisemitism in Britain and around the world.

, ,

NHS diversity chief reported to have made comments about Jewish “control” in TV interview

An NHS diversity chief’s alleged inflammatory comments about Jews have now come to light, a reported seven years after they were allegedly made on television.

GB News said that in the uncovered footage, Mahroof Hussain can be heard making the remarks on Noor TV, an Urdu-language television network, in 2016. The man in the video can be heard saying: “If people complain Jews control this and that, well, you know, why not?”

He added: “They have the ability, the financial resource, and the capability, and the brains, and the strategy.”

Mr Hussain is the national Diversity, Inclusion and Participation Manager at NHS Health Education England (NHS HEE).

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “In view of his controversial past political positions, there is a certain irony in Mahroof Hussain’s willingness to make sweeping generalisations about other faith groups. His conspiratorial views about Jews, which rest on antisemitic stereotypes about Jewish control and wealth, can have no place in our public discourse. He must apologise for these remarks, and his MBE must surely be called into question.

“NHS HEE must immediately suspend Mr Hussain and transparently investigate the allegations. For a taxpayer-funded body to do anything less would severely damage the public’s confidence. The case is made considerably more severe given Mr Hussain’s role as Diversity, Inclusion and Participation Manager. If the allegations are made out, it goes without saying that it is not tenable for him to continue in that position.”

, ,

“Are you Jewish?”: CCTV footage appears to show man trying to punch Jewish woman

CCTV footage appears to show a man trying to punch a Jewish woman.

The suspect reportedly asked the woman “Are you Jewish?” before allegedly attempting to hit her.

It is understood that the suspect has been arrested.

The alleged incident occurred in the Grodzinski bakery in Stamford Hill and was reported by Stamford Hill Shomrim, the Jewish volunteer neighbourhood watch patrol.

If you have any more information, please contact the police on 101 or Stamford Hill Shomrim on 0300 999 0123, quoting reference number: 4600142/23

Campaign Against Antisemitism works closely with Shomrim, with whom we have a data-sharing agreement.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

, ,

Man reportedly yells he has a gun after ranting about Jews in Stamford Hill

A man reportedly claimed to be in possession of a gun after allegedly ranting about Jews.

The alleged incident occurred in Stamford Hill and was reported by Stamford Hill Shomrim, the Jewish volunteer neighbourhood watch patrol.

According to Shomrim, the suspect yelled “Jews don’t give me a job, I have a gun,” before robbing a nearby shop’s cash register. 

If you have any more information, please contact the police on 101 or Stamford Hill Shomrim on 0300 999 0123, quoting reference number: CAD 3129 03/01/23

Campaign Against Antisemitism works closely with Shomrim, with whom we have a data-sharing agreement.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

, ,

Breslov rabbi Eli Goldsmith speaks to the CAA podcast about antisemitism, activism, and professional wrestling

Eli Goldsmith, the podcaster, musician, and rabbi behind Unity Bookings, a global entertainment promotion, appeared on the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism where he spoke about tackling antisemitism through art and entertainment, and revealed his own experiences of antisemitism.

Commenting on previous podcast guests, musicians Westside Gravy and Moshe Reuven, and comedian Elon Gold, three talents whom Mr Goldsmith has worked with and who use their respective art forms to combat antisemitism, the promoter said that such acts were “saving lives”.

“We have to create a youth movement in the Jewish world and empower musicians,” he said. 

Additionally, he encouraged social media users to share content that they find empowering to help in tackling anti-Jewish hate. 

He said: “For us to just be passive is a massive mistake. The Lubavitcher Rebbe said that you have to be an active participant in life.

“That means each of us individually, every day, practically need to like and share, a few times a day, something of meaning and purpose that can bring some light to the internet experience.”

Mr Goldsmith is, however, no stranger to antisemitism himself. Speaking candidly, he revealed that as a teenager growing up in North London, he was on the receiving end of antisemitic abuse. 

“It was rough and tough. I got beaten up a few times, for sure…[one] kid threw a coin at me and said ‘Dirty Jew, stingy Jew, pick up the coin’. It was in the toilet area, and I wasn’t going to pick it up.”

Mr Goldsmith added that, at times, he has even been “threatened with bricks and knives”. 

Asked whether he ever felt like he was able to report those attacking him, he said: “I was a teenager by that point, a young teenager, and I just didn’t look to authority.”

The multifaceted rabbi comes from a family of promoters, notably Harvey and Martin Goldsmith, who were heavily involved in staging large professional wrestling for the then-WWF, now known as WWE, and music live events. 

Speaking on his time rubbing shoulders with some of the biggest wrestling stars of the day, he joked that “It definitely gained me some popularity.”

“Hacksaw Jim Duggan came to my bar mitzvah, which is very cool. He picked up my grandma, a little Jewish lady, screaming ‘USA!’ I went on a tour to the US with them. In Pittsburgh, I was [at] a big WWF event, so I got to meet them all,” he revealed.

Such names included, but were not limited to, WWF Champions Yokozuna and Hulk Hogan. “My dad was actually quite close with Hulk Hogan. He calls him his ‘Holy Brother’!”

Throughout the interview, Mr Goldsmith also discussed a variety of other topics, including how he became involved in Breslov Judaism.

This podcast can be listened to here, or watched here.

Podcast Against Antisemitism, produced by Campaign Against Antisemitism, talks to a different guest about antisemitism each week. It streams every Thursday and is available through all major podcast apps and YouTube. You can also subscribe to have new episodes sent straight to your inbox.

Previous guests have included comedian David Baddiel, television personality Robert Rinder, writer Eve Barlow, Grammy-Award-winning singer-songwriter Autumn Rowe, and actor Eddie Marsan.

,

Iranian TV network broadcasts bishop that claiming Jews “control the world”

An Iranian television network has broadcasted an inflammatory Catholic bishop claiming that Jews “control the world.”

Bishop Richard Wiliamson, who has previously claimed that only 200,000 Jews died during the Holocaust, reportedly claimed on the Iranian Channel 4 that Jews “control peoples’ minds” and “the world,” among numerous other comments targeting Jewish people. 

Bishop Williamson, who was convicted of Holocaust-denial in Germany, has also said that he believes that “there were no gas chambers.”

Throughout the broadcast, Bishop Williamson appeared to reference a number of conspiracy theories relating to Jews, including the belief that Jewish people control the media. He then continued to refer to the Holocaust as a “myth” and claimed that it was “historical truth” that only 100,000 Jews died during the Holocaust. 

On the same broadcast, he also reportedly characterised Jewish people as “masterly twisters of minds” who created freemasonry to “carry Jewish corruption into Christian society”. 

Judeo-Masonism is a conspiratorial belief that Jews secretly collaborate with freemasons to undermine the teachings of the Catholic Church and control the world.

Bishop Williamson was previously excommunicated from the Catholic Church, and, following a brief readmission, excommunicated again.

, , ,

Following action from CAA and others, Google corrects definition of ‘Jew’ after displaying antisemitic slur as top result

Following action from Campaign Against Antisemitism and others, Google has corrected its definition of the word ‘Jew’ after it displayed an antisemitic slur as its top result.

The leading definition that was on display was labelled by Google as an “offensive verb” and read: “bargain with someone in a miserly or petty way.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism promptly contacted Google on the matter, who swiftly resolved it. 

Google later apologised for the incident, writing: “Our apologies. Google licenses definitions from third-party dictionary experts. We only display offensive definitions by default if they are the main meaning of a term. As this is not the case here, we have blocked this & passed along feedback to the partner for further review.”

This is not the first time this has happened, and we are asking for monitoring to be put in place to ensure that the algorithm does not repeat this incorrect behaviour. 

Last year, Google admitted that it “must do better” after more than 150 antisemitic comments were discovered on the Google Maps site for the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp.

Only a few months later, it was reported that Google’s Head of Diversity Strategy wrote that Jews have an “insatiable appetite for war and killing” and an “insensitivity to the suffering [of] others.”

, ,

Man reportedly shoves Jewish one-year-old child and yells “move on f***ing Jew, I will stab and kill you” before cutting the father’s neck

A Jewish father and child were both reported to have been physically assaulted by a man in Stamford Hill.

The Jewish father was walking with his one-year-old child and his wife, who is eight months pregnant, when his child stopped walking in the middle of the street.

A passer-by, described as a Black male with short hair and a green jacket, allegedly then pushed the child and yelled: “Move on f***ing Jew, I will stab and kill you.”

The child’s father then stepped in, telling the suspect to leave his child alone. The suspect reportedly then pulled out a lighter and used the metal component to cut the man’s neck and hand. 

The alleged incident occurred on Olinda Road in Stamford Hill at 15:10 on 24th December and was reported by Stamford Hill Shomrim, the Jewish volunteer neighbourhood watch patrol.

If you have any more information, please contact the police on 101 or Stamford Hill Shomrim on 0300 999 0123, quoting reference number: CAD 1544 25/12/22

Campaign Against Antisemitism works closely with Shomrim, with whom we have a data-sharing agreement.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

, ,

Van driver reportedly abuses Jewish man, throwing stones at his face

A van driver reportedly abused a Jewish man and threw stones at his face following a disagreement over parking.

The van driver then allegedly yelled: “You Jewish people you think you can park where you want.”

The alleged incident occurred on the corner of Cazenove Road and Fountayne Road in Stamford Hill and was reported by Stamford Hill Shomrim, the Jewish volunteer neighbourhood watch patrol.

If you have any more information, please contact the police on 101 or Stamford Hill Shomrim on 0300 999 0123, quoting reference number: CAD 3899 20/12/22

Campaign Against Antisemitism works closely with Shomrim, with whom we have a data-sharing agreement.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

Image credit: Google

, ,

Apple Books found selling the antisemitic Protocols of the Elders of Zion and Henry Ford’s The International Jew

Apple Books has been found to be selling antisemitic literature on its platform.

When searching for the word “Jew” on the Apple Books app, users are able to purchase the notoriously antisemitic and fraudulent Protocols of the Elders of Zion for 49 pence.

The antisemitic work was originally published in Czarist Russia in 1903 and, having since been translated into multiple languages, is still popular in parts of the world today. It is a fake record of a fictitious meeting of a Jewish cabal discussing its control of the world.

Additionally, multiple copies of Henry Ford’s antisemitic The International Jew: The World’s Foremost Problem are also on sale, one copy for £4.99 and another for 49 pence.

This is not the first instance of these works being available for purchase. In the past, Blackwell’s, WH Smith and Oxfam rescinded its copies of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion following public outcries.

, , ,

“No Jew has all of the answers”: Activist Amy Albertson on individual Jews being tasked as representatives

Amy Albertson, a Chinese-American Jewish activist and Associate at the Tel Aviv Institute, appeared on the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism where she spoke about her experiences of being singled out as an Asian Jew.

“It’s really interesting, because I used to thrive on being the token,” she said. “I enjoyed being unique and different, so I didn’t mind it. And then eventually, it kind of weighs on you, because you become this representative.”

Ms Albertson lamented how, often when she has found herself in environments in which she was surrounded by people who may not know a lot about Jewish people or Jewish culture, it felt to her as though “everyone looks to you for all of the answers.”

She continued: “No Jew has all of the answers, right? I think a lot of minorities experience this, where you end up feeling like you’re a representative of your entire people, which is very stressful, and also, ridiculous.”

She revealed that she has had similar experiences when she has been the only Asian person in a room. 

“My Asian family is very American…we’re very Asian-American. People will ask me questions about China, or they want to tell me that they’ve gone to China, and I’m like, ‘That’s really great for you. I’ve never been to China.’ That’s one thing that was so incredible about finding the Asian-Jewish space.”

Earlier this year, Ms Albertson attended an Asian-Jewish Passover Seder hosted by The LUNAR Collective, a group that “cultivates connection, belonging and visibility for Asian American Jews through intersectional community programming and authentic digital storytelling”. Ms Albertson spoke highly of the communal experience of the Seder, praising it as being “really beautiful”.

“This is something that we’ve all experienced; being token,” she said. “Especially being a Jewish Asian…it’s not that common, and you know what it feels like to be in these spaces where people expect you to represent people.”

The activist told our host how, upon telling people that she is Jewish, many begin to enquire about whether she fits the stereotypes placed upon her.

“You’re Asian and you’re Jewish, I feel like people are just wondering, ‘How do you fit the different stereotypes?’ And it’s like, well, I’m just a human. So, maybe I do and maybe I don’t, but does it matter?” she asked.

Speaking on the similarities between the tropes alleged against both Jews and Asians, Ms Albertson said: “The thing about antisemitism is that there’s a lot of punching up, and actually, with anti-Asian racism, there is also the stereotype that we are the model the minority.

“The model minority myth affects both Jews and Asians, because we are successful minorities in America. There are these stereotypes that Asians are doctors, or lawyers, or they’re really rich, they’re good at math, these kinds of things…it’s very interesting, the crossover with antisemitism, [because] it seems on one hand that it could be positive, where someone’s saying ‘You’re so successful’, but really it becomes a negative.”

This podcast can be listened to here, or watched here.

Podcast Against Antisemitism, produced by Campaign Against Antisemitism, talks to a different guest about antisemitism each week. It streams every Thursday and is available through all major podcast apps and YouTube. You can also subscribe to have new episodes sent straight to your inbox.

Previous guests have included comedian David Baddiel, television personality Robert Rinder, writer Eve Barlow, Grammy-Award-winning singer-songwriter Autumn Rowe, and actor Eddie Marsan.

, ,

University of Nottingham event featuring controversial cleric who described Jews as “a cowardly nation” is postponed

An event organised by a society at the University of Nottingham which was set to feature a controversial cleric, who had previously described Jews as “a cowardly nation”, has been postponed. 

Nottingham University Islamic Society invited Sheikh Asrar Rashid, a controversial cleric in Birmingham, to give a talk on “The End of Times”.

Mr Rashid, who is reported to have said that Hitler did Jews “a favour”, was initially advertised by the Society in a Facebook post on 7th December, scheduled to appear at the University’s Law and Social Science building.

However, on 10th December, a further announcement was made stating that the event would instead be held at the Lenton Muslim Centre. 

The next day, the Society wrote that the event was “postponed until further notice due to unforeseen circumstances”.

A spokesperson for the University of Nottingham Students Union said that it had been “made aware of an invitation issued by the Islamic Society to Asrar Rashid to address its members. The Students’ Union has requested a postponement of the event to ensure that the agreed process for issuing such speaker invitations has been followed and allows us to determine whether the event can be held peacefully and safely for all those concerned,” adding: “Our priority is, and always will be, for all of our student members and it is of the utmost importance to us that we make sure all Students’ Union activity is safe, inclusive, dignified, respectful, and responsible.”

However, a Nottingham Jewish Society spokesperson said that its members were “appalled” by the invitation of Mr Rashid, and said that “This invitation should never have been approved in the first place, and our complaints should have been taken seriously and been treated discretely by the University and Students’ Union. Speakers who seek to incite hatred should not be invited to speak at our university.”

Mr Rashid has reportedly claimed that “By the 1940s, Hitler did a favour for the Jews that the Jews now were favoured by Europe.” Last year, the cleric stood by his description of Jews as “a cowardly nation” and call for a “jihad” on Israel.

Whilst commenting on last year’s violence in Israel and Gaza during a panel discussion, Mr Rashid was quoted as saying: “Personally, I believe the only solution is jihad, and a call for jihad, and an announcement for jihad by Muslim majority states that we have.

“Even surgical strikes or wallpaper strikes, the type that Saddam Hussein did in the early Nineties, I believe. Thirty-nine rockets he fired into Tel Aviv and every Jew was running into his shelter. Those with a European passport would be running back to Europe.”

“You see the way they react to Katyusha missiles or Qassam missiles that do not even kill anyone, they run into their shelters so the Jews are known as…a cowardly nation.”

Following criticism from the JC, which Mr Rashid described as a “Zionist newspaper”, he defended his comments on Facebook and Twitter, writing that the term “Jews” was “used in the same vein as the mainstream media regularly employ ‘Muslim’, ‘Arabs’, or ‘Palestinian’.”

He went on to say: “This context also reflects my statements that the ‘Jews are known as a cowardly nation’, pertaining to the State of Israel and its actions against the Palestinians where women and children are indiscriminately killed.”

According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Calling for, aiding, or justifying the killing or harming of Jews in the name of a radical ideology or an extremist view of religion” is an example of antisemitism, as is “Making mendacious, dehumanising, demonising, or stereotypical allegations about Jews as such or the power of Jews as collective.”

,

Jeremy Corbyn’s “Jewish liaison officer” expelled from Labour Party following repeated claims antisemitism was being “weaponised against the left”

A Labour activist previously appointed as Jeremy Corbyn’s “Jewish liaison officer” has been expelled from the Party.

Heather Mendick’s insulting appointment to the role in 2019 to “build bridges” with British Jews drew the ire of the community, given her record. She had said that antisemitism claims have been “weaponised” and criticised calls for Labour to adopt the International Definition of Antisemitism. She also joined disgraced MP Chris Williamson on his “Democracy Roadshow” and expressed “solidarity” for Jenny Manson, a member of the sham Jewish Voice For Labour (JVL), an antisemitism-denial group. She even signed a letter in The Guardian claiming that Mr Corbyn is a “formidable” opponent of antisemitism after Luciana Berger resigned from Labour over “institutional antisemitism”.

Ms Mendick was a member of Momentum, the pro-Corbyn campaign group, and worked as a research consultant and Secretary of Hackney South Labour Party.

In a video announcing her expulsion, Ms Mendick said, “I feel relieved. The Labour Party is a cesspit.”

Elsewhere in London, Cllr Joy Wallace has reportedly been expelled from the Party. Cllr Wallace, who sits on Haringey Council, won election earlier this year and was suspended by the Party. She had allegedly accused a rabbi of being “paid handsomely” for criticising Mr Corbyn on Radio 4, among other inflammatory remarks.

Also expelled was Stephen Marks, a former member of Labour’s powerful National Constitutional Committee. He received an administrative suspension from the Party in July 2021, and has reportedly now been expelled.

Meanwhile, the Labour MP Nadia Whittome has been accused of associating with a controversial group.

The Labour Party was found by the EHRC to have engaged in unlawful discrimination and harassment of Jews. The report followed the EHRC’s investigation of the Labour Party in which Campaign Against Antisemitism was the complainant, submitting hundreds of pages of evidence and legal argument. Sir Keir Starmer called the publication of the report a “day of shame” for the Labour Party.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.

Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.

, ,

Wigan man jailed after posting antisemitic content

A man in Wigan was jailed on Wednesday after posting antisemitic content.

Stuart Sutton, 45, who was brought to the attention of Counter Terrorism Policing North West (CTPNW) by CST, posted antisemitic and racist material over an eight-month period in 2021. 

CPTNW conducted a search of his home on 2nd February of this year, arresting him shortly thereafter. 

Mr Sutton has been sentenced to two years in prison, reduced to sixteen months owing to his early guilty plea.

Detective Superintendent Andy Meeks, of the CTPNW Investigation Department, said that “We would always encourage people to report acts of racial hatred whether that’s in person or online,” while Amanda Bomsztyk, CST’s Northern Regional Director, said that “It is important that such extreme Jew-hatred and racism leads to arrest and imprisonment.”

, ,

“We hate the Jews”: Woman reportedly harassed on London Underground by two men

A woman was reportedly harassed on the London Underground by two men, one of whom is believed to have made sexual advances.

The woman was travelling on the Piccadilly line from Arsenal to Kings Cross at 14:00 on 14th December when one of the men allegedly said: “We hate the Jews.”

It is understood that the woman then confronted the man, whereupon the man was purported to have made sexual advances toward her.

When the woman refused his alleged advances, both men then reportedly “attacked” her with an “array of racism and taunting”. 

According to the woman, she was then chased off of the carriage by the men, and later stated that “not one person stuck up for me on that train.”

, ,

“Why should I have to change everything about myself?” Jewish rapper Westside Gravy on refusing to cower to antisemitism and anti-Black racism

Westside Gravy, a rapper and producer who uses his music to address antisemitism, appeared on the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism where he spoke candidly about the discrimination he faces, and his refusal to back down from it. 

“A lot of times, there’s a conversation about the talk that Black parents have with their Black children regarding how to interact if you’re getting profiled or harassed by anyone, really, but especially people talk about it when it comes to issues of police brutality,” the rapper said. “And there’s also a similar thing that to do with being Jewish, publicly identifying as Jewish.

“There’s times that I’ve been harassed and had things yelled at me for being identifiable as a Jewish man,” he revealed. “You should be able to go out and not hide aspects of your identity that are immutable…you can’t change them, you can’t hide them, or else you’re hiding a part of yourself. And at the same time, it’s about being conscious of whatever situation you’re in.”

The California native, who now lives in Israel, broke down the meaning behind some of his lyrics. In his song, Wish You Would 2, he raps: “Why do I gotta be the one to pay the price and change my life? It just ain’t right to trade my sight and see myself through hatred’s eyes.”

“There’s a couple times I’ve written lines, I’m like ‘This sums up everything I’m trying to say,’” he explained, before delving into the theory of “double consciousness”. 

He explained: “There’s this idea that originated, even talking specifically about the Black experience, that if you’re walking around, you have to be conscious not only of who you are as a person but also how you’re perceived…I get perceived as all sorts of things just because of stereotypes, unfair stereotypes of other people.

“I was trying to play on that, and at the same time, humanise what it means to be a Jewish person because I’m speaking from a first-person perspective of ‘Why should I have to change everything about myself?’”

The rapper went on to explain that he feels that “when we have these stereotypes put on us, they’re not as a result of someone’s individual thought. They’re a result of a whole, huge movement of hatred against our people, that infects a bunch of people to hold these stereotypes and negative prejudices against us.”

Wearing a kippah (skullcap) is important to Westside Gravy, as he states: “I’d always wear a kippah when I was going to synagogue, or praying, or at Shabbat, and I started to do it on a daily basis.”

He explains that he never wears his kippah as a means of spiting antisemites, but more so because “it doesn’t feel right for me to change that or to hide it about myself, because it’s a part of me the same way as anything else you see about me – my skin colour, my hair texture, my facial features – are a part of me.” 

The musician, however, is certainly not afraid of antisemites, even going so far as to mock them in his song Benjamins Baby, a reference to Congresswoman Ilhan Omar who previously suggested that Jewish people buy political support when she tweeted “It’s all about the Benjamins baby”, referencing a song about a $100 bill and AIPAC, a pro-Israeli lobbying group.

The satirical song, in which the rapper subversively embodies the character of the antisemitic stereotype of a powerful Jewish politician, also references former KKK leader David Duke and the antisemitic hate preacher, Louis Farrakhan.

The song was written following Westside Gravy’s witnessing of how politicians would blame the opposite parties for committing acts of antisemitism, whilst wilfully ignoring it when it occurred in their own movement. 

“It’s very irresponsible to not recognise the fact that antisemitism is not a political movement. It’s not something that’s tied to a political party or a political ideology, it’s a form of hatred that infects all sorts of different political leaders,” he said. “Look at someone like David Duke, who is on the far-right. Look at someone like Louis Farrakhan who, though his values are not congruent with actual, left-wing values, is often praised by people on the far-left.”

Westside Gravy astutely observed that “the things that they say about Jewish people – ‘Jewish extremist Zionists’ – are identical. The dehumanisation is identical. The tropes that they use about Jews and money, whether it’s from the right wing or the left wing, are identical tropes.

“It’s important for us as Jewish people to recognise that our civilisation, our culture, our history, predates all these political parties that are trying to blame the other side for antisemitism.” 

Throughout the interview, Westside Gravy also discussed a variety of other topics including antisemitism in hip-hop, his musical inspirations, and his ability to rap in several languages.

This podcast can be listened to here, or watched here.

Podcast Against Antisemitism, produced by Campaign Against Antisemitism, talks to a different guest about antisemitism each week. It streams every Thursday and is available through all major podcast apps and YouTube. You can also subscribe to have new episodes sent straight to your inbox.

Previous guests have included comedian David Baddiel, television personality Robert Rinder, writer Eve Barlow, Grammy-Award-winning singer-songwriter Autumn Rowe, and actor Eddie Marsan.

, ,

Men shout “dirty Jews” at teenagers in Golders Green 

Four men reportedly shouted “dirty Jews” at two Jewish teenagers in North-West London last week.

The incident occurred on Hamilton Road in Golders Green at 22:00 on Friday night. 

It is understood that the men came out of a BMW car and shouted “dirty Jews” at the victims, before attempting to chase them. Once the victims had crossed the road, the suspects proceeded to shout “run Jews, run.”

The incident was reported to Shomrim North West London, a Jewish volunteer neighbourhood watch patrol.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over five hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than five times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

Image credit: Google

, , ,

Hertfordshire under-fourteens team receives nine-month ban following “Hitler would be proud” Snapchat post

A Hertfordshire-based under-fourteens football team has received a nine-month ban following an inflammatory social media post from one of its players.

Following the Potters Bar United under-fourteen’s win over the Jewish children’s football team Maccabi London FC on 19th September, one of the Potters Bar players uploaded a Snapchat post which said: “4-3 win over some random Jews. Hitler would be proud.”

Accompanied was a petrol tank emoji, seemingly a reference to gas chambers in Nazi Germany.

The team has now been banned from playing games for nine months, two of which are suspended for one year. Additionally, two players have been suspended from playing, must attend an FA online education programme and the club must pay a fine.

The family of the boy responsible for the post has agreed to undertake a course on Holocaust education and Judaism with a rabbi. 

A spokesperson for Hertfordshire Police said: “An investigation was launched in September 2022 after police were made aware of a post on social media containing antisemitic language. The post was made in relation to a football match involving two youth teams based in Hertfordshire.

“Enquiries were carried out and a teenage boy was interviewed under caution. He fully admitted the offence and was dealt with by of community resolution.

“Hate crimes can have a severe impact on victims and on the wider community as a whole. Incidents of this nature will absolutely not be tolerated in Hertfordshire and any reports made to police will be taken seriously and dealt with sensitively.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism continues to report on and act against instances of anti-Jewish racism in all sports.

, ,

Man who believes “Jewish elite” controls government convicted of terror charges

A man who reportedly believes that the government is controlled by a “Jewish elite” was convicted of terror charges on Monday.

Oliver Lewin, 38, from Coalville, Leicestershire, pleaded not guilty to a charge of preparing terrorist acts at Birmingham Crown Court last month.

However, despite Mr Lewin’s denial that he was planning on carrying out reconnaissance of potential targets, buying equipment, creating hideouts, and attempting to recruit others, he has been found guilty of plotting to topple the Government.

The defendant’s targets included transmitter masts and transport infrastructure.

Mr Lewin was said to have posted messages in a channel on the social media platform Telegram, which had been infiltrated by police officers, where he issued a “call to arms” and suggested “fire-bombing” sheds in the Sutton Coldfield of Birmingham.

During the trial last month, prosecutor Annabel Darlow KC said: “That is one of the UK’s most important transmission sites and is in fact the main broadcasting site for the Birmingham and West Midlands area, supporting TV and radio broadcasting services for many millions of users.”

Ms Darlow added that “Mr Lewin, in fact, stated his goal was to topple the British government. He believed that it was dominated by a Jewish elite who took orders from Israel…He saw the spread of coronavirus across the world as triggering what he termed the emergence of a Chinese Communist system.”

Mr Lewin reportedly admitted that he had purchased equipment, however, he allegedly told officers that he had no intention of carrying out an attack, arguing that he was just a “fantasist” engaging in “role play”.

According to the prosecution, Mr Lewin additionally said that he believed “white people across Europe were being systematically killed by the vaccine” in a “planned genocide”.

During a search of Mr Lewin’s address, police discovered an uncompleted manual, entitled “Civilian Resistance Operations Manual”. 

In the manual, Mr Lewin wrote: “What we can be certain of is that we are seeing the emergence of a Chinese Communist system that is ever accelerating with rapidity. We are not a Communist country and should fight with everything we have to prevent it.”

After the trial, West Midlands Head of Counter Terrorism policing Detective Chief Superintendent Mark Payne, said: “Lewin claimed he was a fantasist but it is clear he took the steps to carry out reconnaissance of targets to attack, bought equipment and tools, dug hide-outs and tried to recruit and train others. 

“He wanted to advance a political cause by damaging property and wiping out media organisations. Extremists use this kind of ideology to create discord, distrust and fear among our communities and we strive to counter this.”

Earlier this year, a study found that about half of all references to the Holocaust on the encrypted messaging service, Telegram, either distort the facts about the genocide of the Jewish people, or deny that it happened at all.

Campaign Against Antisemitism closely monitors the far-right, which remains a dangerous threat to the Jewish community and other minority groups.

Image credit: West Midlands Police

, ,

Identifiably Jewish man returning from synagogue reportedly threatened by chain-wielding aggressor

An identifiably Jewish man returning from a synagogue was reportedly threatened by a man wielding a chain.

The alleged aggressor was said to have used the chain into forcing the Jewish man to walk with him.

It was reportedly only when pedestrians passed by to offer help that the aggressor fled the scene.

The incident, seemingly captured on video, took place in Stamford Hill at 23:55 on 9th December and was reported by Stamford Hill Shomrim, the Jewish volunteer neighbourhood watch patrol.

If you have any more information, please contact the police on 101 or Stamford Hill Shomrim on 0300 999 0123, quoting reference number: 6554 13/12

Campaign Against Antisemitism works closely with Shomrim, with whom we have a data-sharing agreement.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

, ,

Man reportedly shouts “I’m Adolf Hitler and I will kill the Jews” at thirteen-year-old Jewish girl

A man has reportedly shouted “I’m Adolf Hitler and I will kill the Jews” at a thirteen-year-old Jewish girl in North London.

The man was also alleged to have made a gun-like gesture with his umbrella.

The incident occurred on the 253 bus in Clapton Common near Stamford Hill and was reported by Stamford Hill Shomrim, the Jewish volunteer neighbourhood watch patrol.

If you have any more information, please contact the police on 101 or Stamford Hill Shomrim on 0300 999 0123, quoting reference number: CAD 2596 20/12/22

Campaign Against Antisemitism works closely with Shomrim, with whom we have a data-sharing agreement.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

, ,

“Go back to Stamford Hill, trouble makers”: Jewish family harassed on London bus

A Jewish family was harassed on a London bus when a man told them to “Go back to Stamford Hill.”

The man who reportedly accosted the mother, fourteen-year-old girl and baby is said to be a white man of Irish descent.

He was also alleged to have said “You’re only here because of the Irish,” before reportedly getting close to the fourteen-year-old and saying “I love you”.

According to the woman, who is understood to be distraught following the incident, the bus driver did not intervene despite fellow passengers shouting to him to stop the bus. 

The incident took place after the family boarded the 67 bus at the Brampton Park stop at 14:00 on 7th December and was reported by Stamford Hill Shomrim, the Jewish volunteer neighbourhood watch patrol.

If you have any more information, please contact the police on 101 or Stamford Hill Shomrim on 0300 999 0123, quoting reference number: CAD 7909 10/12/22

Campaign Against Antisemitism works closely with Shomrim, with whom we have a data-sharing agreement.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

, ,

Inflammatory columnist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown writes of Israel’s “influence” in Britain and that Labour Party members were expelled for “being pro-Palestinian”

The controversial columnist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown has written of Israel’s “influence” in Britain and how Labour Party members were expelled for “being pro-Palestinian”.

Ms Alibhai-Brown made the claim in a column this week for the i newspaper.

“I fear Israel is above international law and, in Britain, more influential than it has ever been,” she wrote, implicitly claiming in the very next sentence that as a result of that influence, “Several Jewish Labour Party members have reportedly been expelled from the party because they are pro-Palestinian.”

Referencing the International Definition of Antisemitism, she erroneously added that “the flawed International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, which the Government has instructed universities to adopt, has already been used to inhibit legitimate criticism of Israel.”

Britain was the first country in the world to adopt the International Definition of Antisemitism, something for which Campaign Against Antisemitism and Lord Pickles worked hard over many meetings with officials at Downing Street. 

The media watchdog CAMERA UK has documented a pattern of concerning statements from Ms Alibhai-Brown in her articles and social media pronouncements over the years, including a tweet from 2014 in which she wrote: “Jews were massacred by Nazis & good Germans did nothing. Now Israel massacres Gaza infants & good Israelis do nothing. Wrong lessons learnt.”

According to the Definition, “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” is an example of antisemitism.

Moreover, earlier this year, Ms Alibhai-Brown deployed the Livingstone Formulation in an article, in which she asserted that “These days, any criticism of Israel is deemed ‘antisemitic’.”

The “Livingstone Formulation”, named by sociologist David Hirsch after the controversial former Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, is used to describe how allegations of antisemitism are dismissed as malevolent and baseless attempts to silence criticism of Israel. In its report on antisemitism in the Labour Party, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) found that suggestions of this nature were part of the unlawful victimisation of Jewish people in the Party.

Late last year, Ms Alibhai-Brown made a similar claim, arguing in an article that “any criticism of the state [of Israel] is deemed antisemitic by apologists and diehard allies”, and suggesting that this is motivating a “purge” of Labour Party members. In the article titled “The UN is warning of spiralling violence, yet the West has forgotten the Palestinians” for the i newspaper, Ms Alibhai-Brown also wrote that “a report from Jewish Voice for Labour accused Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Party of purging Jewish members who call Israel to account.” Jewish Voice for Labour is an antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation.

The year before that, she replied to journalist Stephen Bush’s reaction to being appointed to lead a Jewish charity’s review of racial inclusivity in the Jewish community by tweeting: “maybe ask them about the Palestinians.” The review was concerned with British Jews and was unrelated to Israel, a distinction that Ms Alibhai-Brown is apparently incapable of apprehending.

Previously Ms Alibhai-Brown also expressed her opposition to the Labour Party’s adoption of the International Definition of Antisemitism, describing the fringe minority of Jewish individuals who agreed with her as “good Jews”.

Newspapers and television broadcasters who host Ms Alibhai-Brown must think again before giving a platform to someone who takes such positions.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.

Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors traditional media and regularly holds outlets to account. If members of the public are concerned about reportage in the media, they should contact us at [email protected].

, , ,

Has your local authority adopted it? CAA releases first-of-its-kind study surveying adoption of International Definition of Antisemitism by local authorities

Campaign Against Antisemitism has published a first-of-its-kind study surveying in real-time the adoption of the International Definition of Antisemitism by local authorities across the UK.

The study can be accessed at antisemitism.org/councils.

The study shows that the campaign for widespread adoption of the Definition has been very successful, but that there is still much more to do.

Ever since Campaign Against Antisemitism led the effort for adoption of the Definition by the British Government — which became the first in the world to do so — multiple Secretaries of State for Local Government have joined the Jewish community’s push for local authorities to follow suit.

As this research shows, that campaign has yielded results, with much success owed to the work of grassroots local activists and organisations right across the country. We applaud them and the local authorities that have listened, but there remains much to do.

Currently, there are over 200 local authorities that have adopted the Definition, with around 70 where the status of adoption is unclear, often because it is not clear whether the council has adopted the Definition in full with the eleven integral examples or not. Over one hundred local authorities do not appear to have adopted the Definition at all, as of now.

The study gives a fuller picture of the fight against antisemitism at the local level, exposing which local authorities take this issue seriously and which do not, and enabling local activists and voters to make informed choices.

Unfortunately, our research also shows that there is still a long way to go. While a majority of local authorities have adopted the Definition in full, more than a quarter have not done so. A significant number have not adopted it clearly, which may make applying the Definition in disciplinary matters — when it most matters — more difficult.

The purpose of adoption of the full Definition is not only to send a message of where local councillors stand on antisemitism but also to ensure that the Definition is applied in disciplinary cases involving councillors or staff. As this research also shows, the number of local authorities that have actually incorporated the Definition into their codes of conduct for councillors and staff is negligible. Incorporation highlights the wording of the Definition, provides clarity to any disciplinary proceedings and therefore contributes positively to combatting antisemitism.

The study also discusses the shortcomings of the existing disciplinary and sanctions systems in place for dealing with misconduct by local councillors. Adoption of the Definition and its incorporation into codes of conduct are still insufficient if appropriate sanctions are unavailable and local councillors can engage in antisemitic conduct without consequence. We provide a list of recommendations to remedy these problems.

A separate Campaign Against Antisemitism study exposing antisemitism in political parties has shown just how extensive antisemitism is among local councillors and council candidates. Adopting and applying the Definition in antisemitism cases and enforcing judgments with real sanctions are critical if anti-Jewish hatred is to be eradicated from local politics in the UK.

British Jews should not have to endure antisemitism from their elected representatives, and all opponents of racism in our country should root out prejudice at any level of our politics. It is easy to say that antisemitism is unacceptable, but words must be followed by action. Widespread adoption of the Definition is the bare minimum.

If you would like to write to your local councillors or representatives in a devolved administration, please visit antisemitism.org/councils.

The report comes following a surge of antisemitism at the local level over the past several years, which has resulted in the resignation of at least one leader of a council and political control in at least two local councils changing hands.

Gideon Falter, Chief Executive of Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “This groundbreaking, comprehensive study, which is the product of painstaking research by our team, shows that the campaign for widespread adoption of the International Definition of Antisemitism by local authorities across the UK has been very successful. Unfortunately it also shows that there is still a long way to go: over a quarter of local authorities have yet to adopt the Definition.

“This research is designed to serve as an accessible resource for local media and members of the public, whom we invite to write to their local councillors to urge adoption of the Definition. It also provides critical recommendations to ensure that the fight against antisemitism in local politics has a chance of success.

“The surge of antisemitism at the local level demonstrates just how essential it is for local authorities to adopt the Definition and, crucially, to incorporate it into their codes of conduct for councillors and staff. Antisemitism has no place in our political life, and that must include local politics as well.”

The study can be accessed at antisemitism.org/councils. If you have any updates, please e-mail us at [email protected].

Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life.

, , ,

CAA announces new event: “An evening with Ben M. Freeman”

Campaign Against Antisemitism has announced an event scheduled for the new year, titled: “CAA presents…An evening with Ben M. Freeman”

Tickets can be purchased here.

Ben M. Freeman is a Scottish, gay, Jewish author, activist and educator whose latest book, Reclaiming Our Story: The Pursuit of Jewish Pride, is the second instalment of his seminal manifesto of the modern Jewish Pride movement that has taken the Jewish world by storm.

There will be a conversation followed by a Q&A and book signing.

The event will be held at a Shoreditch location (to be revealed on the day) on 19th January, running from 19:30 to 21:30.

Earlier this year, Mr Freeman appeared on an episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism, where he spoke about the importance of having a basic understanding of history and why it is vital in tackling antisemitism. 

Speaking on his passion for studying history, Mr Freeman told our host that “I was always able to view history from a bird’s-eye perspective, and I don’t know why that is…it’s just the way my mind works. So, for me, that means I’m able to spot patterns.

“That’s why I can look at Paul [the Apostle], and then Marx, and then things that were said later on, things that are said today, and then draw a connection.”

Mr Freeman said that looking at common themes between historical events can better explain the events behind antisemitic incidents and “tell us why”. 

“So much of the commentary on Jew-hatred is just commentary, it’s just people describing what happened. ‘This person said this, that person said this,’ and for me, we have to get to the ‘why’, and the ‘why’ is not going to be answered in 2022, it’s going to be answered looking back in history to thousands of years ago.”

The podcast with Mr Freeman can be listened to here, or watched here.

, ,

Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi finally expelled from Labour Party

Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi has reportedly been expelled from the Labour Party.

Writing on Twitter, the controversial Labour activist said: “Confidential email to me says my ‘membership of the Party stands terminated’. An NEC panel concluded I had ‘in its opinion, demonstrated the type of support for REIST (sic), LIEN and LAW prohibited by Chapter 2, Clause I.5.B.v of the Rules.’

“I dispute this interpretation and will appeal my expulsion. It disenfranchises 1000s of members who voted to put me on the NEC.”

Ms Wimborne-Idrissi appears to have been referring in her tweet to the far-left “Resist Movement”, “Labour in Exile Network” and antisemitism denial group “Labour Against the Witchhunt”, all of which are factions that have been proscribed by the Labour Party, meaning that membership of them is sufficient grounds for expulsion from the Party.

This follows Ms Wimborne-Idrissi’s suspension in September, which was decided after she attended a meeting last year of the disgraced former Labour MP Chris Williamson’s Resist Movement, knowing that it is proscribed by the Party.

Ms Wimborne-Idrissi is the Media Officer of Jewish Voice for Labour (JVL), an antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation. She was reportedly suspended from the Labour Party two years ago but her suspension was inexplicably lifted. She was also previously the Vice-Chair of Chingford and Woodford Green Constituency Labour Party before reportedly being removed last year.

She was recently elected to serve on Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC), which was one of several results in that election that called into doubt Labour’s progress in dealing with its antisemitism scandal and the culture that created it.

It was also announced that JVL had settled a libel case brought against it by the respected Panorama journalist John Ware in relation to comments made about him by Ms Wimborne-Idrissi. The settlement has reportedly raised the possibility that JVL may be in financial trouble.

Ms Wimborne-Idrissi has been embroiled in controversy recently, particularly after it was reported that, in a Palestine Deep Dive podcast, she allegedly said: “There are cases where people have said, ‘we’ve got a Holocaust denier in our branch, what are you going to do about it?’ [to which the response was] ‘Oh, let’s have a look at his credentials. Oh, he’s a right-winger, no, no, he’s fine, he can carry on.’” Following calls on social media for her to provide evidence for her claim, it is not believed that any has been presented.

Joe Glasman, Head of Political and Government Investigations at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “We welcome the expulsion of Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi, but question why it has taken the Party so long to act. As well as being a senior figure in the antisemitism-denial organisation styling itself Jewish Voice for Labour, she has also laughed at allegations of antisemitism in the Labour Party, and alleged that ‘pro-Israel advocates’ were working with ‘elites’ in the ‘interests of the capitalist financial system’. Rather than seeing Ms Wimborne-Idrissi expelled on a technicality after so long, we would much prefer that her conduct itself had been examined under Labour’s disciplinary process.”

The Labour Party was found by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to have engaged in unlawful discrimination and harassment of Jews. The report followed the EHRC’s investigation of the Labour Party in which Campaign Against Antisemitism was the complainant, submitting hundreds of pages of evidence and legal argument. Sir Keir Starmer called the publication of the report a “day of shame” for the Labour Party.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.

Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.

, , ,

BBC admits antisemitic comments left on social media channels “should have been removed sooner”

The BBC has said that antisemitic comments left on its social media channels “should have been removed sooner”.

The statement arrives after the comments were brought to its attention by the JC. The comments in question include calling Jews “monkeys and pigs” who deserve to be murdered and asking God to “not leave a single Jew around”.

The comments, which were translated by media watchdog CAMERA Arabic, were made in response to a BBC Arabic report on an anti-Israel protest, during which Israeli broadcaster Tal Shorrer was present.

While BBC Arabic’s report featured the protest, it failed to document the protesters alleged abuse toward Mr Shorrer, which included shoving him and claiming that his microphone was “red with blood” and that as a Jew, he was “killing babies”.

Mr Shorrer told the JC: “I have no problem with people supporting Palestine, but being pushed while I was broadcasting live and told I was a murderer for representing what they called a Jewish channel was a very unpleasant experience.”

In a statement, a BBC spokesperson said: “The comments you’ve highlighted are offensive and totally unacceptable and should have been removed sooner.

“We always look to remove any offensive comment or material as soon as possible. We, in common with many other media companies, face some real issues with comment moderation on social media sites. Although we deploy filtering software, this doesn’t always identify problems, so much of our moderation is manual – and with millions of followers and tens of thousands of comments, we have not always been able to remove comments as quickly as we want to.

“These comments are abhorrent and we strive to delete them as quickly as possible. We welcome people pointing them out so we can take action.”

However, according to the JC, the comments had been removed from the Corporation’s YouTube channel but not its Facebook page.

Last week, a Parliamentary inquiry into the BBC’s bias against Jews was announced.

It came following calls for such an inquiry by the JC and a petition, prompted by growing communal concerns regarding the Corporation. Campaign Against Antisemitism backed the JC’s calls.

The inquiry’s secretary will be former Labour MP Lord Austin, who bravely stood up against antisemitism in the Labour Party and is also an Honorary Patron of Campaign Against Antisemitism.

Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors traditional media and regularly holds outlets to account. If members of the public are concerned about reportage in the media, they should contact us at [email protected].

, ,

School apologises for staging Hitler play where students performed Nazi salutes

A school has apologised after it staged a play about Adolf Hitler, during which students performed Nazi salutes.

Actor Pip Utton, who played the role of Hitler in the controversial one-man play at Somerset’s Millfield School, defended the play and told the JC that he “manipulated” the students in attendance to into performing the salute.

“I told them we should thank the technicians because they rarely receive recognition. I said I wanted them to perform a special show of gratitude by raising their right arms in the air, then bring their hand down to clap their knee.

“As their hands went up I told them, ‘it seemed to work in Berlin’. I was in no way attempting to glorify that horrible, horrible salute. 

“The point was to show how people can be manipulated and how easy it is. Believe me, it is shocking for me to see it happen. They got the fact that it was kind of a joke because they were laughing about it.”

Further upset was reportedly caused by the fact that the play was staged mere hours before Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Hebrew calendar.

Mr Utton said that, had he known, he would have asked the school to reschedule the play, which he has been performing across the country for over 25 years.

The father of a Jewish student in attendance said of the play: “It made me feel sick. What on earth were the teachers thinking? It would not be appropriate to give this kind of play the green light for school children at any time, least of all on the eve of Yom Kippur. 

“The school must have known of the content and if not, it should have. There is no excuse for this disgraceful error of judgment.”

Millfield School Head Gavin Horgan has said that the students should not have been encouraged to “role play such actions”, stating: “We should not have staged this play. We are sorry for the hurt that has been caused and we have changed our approach to vetting performances so that this will never happen again.”

However, Mr Utton took issue with the school’s apology, branding it “spineless”.

Speaking to Times Radio, he said that he would be “sending the Head an e-mail and say that I think his reaction is unwarranted and completely spinless,” adding: “I don’t want to perform at the school again.”

He also revealed that this was not the first time that the play had received complaints, but questioned: “If [people] don’t understand [the play], should I apologise for them not being either intelligent or perceptive enough to understand?”

, ,

“Little Jew needs skinning alive”: Conservative MP Johnny Mercer reports of online death threats

Conservative Party MP Johnny Mercer, representing Plymouth Moor View, posted screenshots to his Twitter account earlier today which appear to show death threats directed toward him.

In one screenshot, an online user seemingly wrote of Mr Mercer, who is not Jewish: “Little Jew needs skinning alive and rolled in salt (non kosher).”

The comment appears as though it was written as a reply to another, which wrote: “Opportunity to kill a few globalists.”

The term ‘globalist’ is a commonly-used antisemitic trope, frequently used among far-right groups, that is often intended as a thinly veiled reference to Jewish people.

Another screenshot shows a news article about Mr Mercer accompanied by the caption: “The next dead MP?”

Mr Mercer stated that “people should know the price of being an MP before criticising those colleagues who choose to step down,” before thanking CST for bringing the threats to his attention.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has long called for tougher regulations on social media sites and that social networks proactively search for and remove hate speech from their platforms.

, ,

CAA writes to online gift shop discovered selling Adolf Hitler pocket watches and cufflinks

Campaign Against Antisemitism will be writing to an online gift shop after it has been found to be selling paraphernalia emblazoned with the image of Adolf Hitler.

The online retailer Giftshop UK has been discovered selling, among other items, pocket watches, keyrings, badges, cufflinks and mirrors, all featuring the Nazi dictator’s likeness.

Additionally, it appears that the descriptions for the products omit any mention of Hitler’s name.

The description for a product labelled “Adolf Hitler Flip Top Lighter”, for example, reads: “Our Chrome Flip Top Lighter is the perfect smokers gift, that is practical, functional and looks good.”

, ,

“One of the biggest mistakes of my life”: Duke of Sussex addresses Nazi uniform in Netflix documentary

Harry, Duke of Sussex has said that wearing a Nazi uniform was “one of the biggest mistakes of my life”.

The much-publicised 2005 stunt in which Harry wore a Nazi uniform to a party when he was twenty has been a talking point that has dogged him throughout the years.

However, in the newly released Netflix docuseries, Harry & Meghan, he has spoken openly about the incident.

Harry said: “It was probably one of the biggest mistakes of my life. I felt so ashamed afterwards. All I wanted to do was make it right.”

He added: “I could’ve just ignored it and probably made the same mistakes over and over again in my life. But I learned from that.”

It was also revealed that he met with then-Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks to discuss the incident.

, ,

Visibly Jewish woman called “dirty Jew” before having shopping bag ripped from her in Stamford Hill

A visibly Jewish woman has reportedly been verbally and physically assaulted in North London. 

A man is alleged to have shouted at the woman, calling her a “dirty Jew”. 

He then reportedly ripped her shopping bag away from her, causing the contents of the bag to spill out onto the street, laughing as he did so.

The incident reportedly occurred on Reizel Close in Stamford Hill.

If you have any more information, please contact the police on 101 or Stamford Hill Shomrim on 0300 999 0123, quoting reference number: CAD 2496 07/12/22

Campaign Against Antisemitism works closely with Shomrim, with whom we have a data-sharing agreement.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

Image credit: Google

, ,

Amid growing communal concerns over BBC, inflammatory contributor Abdel Bari Atwan reportedly dropped by Corporation

Amid growing communal concerns regarding the BBC, the JC has revealed that the Corporation has introduced mass reforms to its Arabic station, which includes the cessation of platforming the inflammatory broadcaster and regular BBC contributor, Abdel Bari Atwan.

One BBC source reportedly said: “Team leaders in BBC Arabic have told editors to stop using him [Atwan] because he said some problematic things on BBC English…We used to have him on a lot, but we have been told not to.”

In September, Campaign Against Antisemitism revealed that Mr Atwan believes that “massive Jewish institutions” try to silence him and others because they “believe they own the entire universe and control all the media.”

In an interview broadcast on the Beirut-based, Arabic-language Al-Mayadeen news channel on 14th April 2022 that has been unearthed by Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Online Monitoring and Investigations Unit, Mr Atwan complained of a campaign of as long as 25 years to silence him “led by Israeli security services, Mossad, Shabak and others.” At the time that the interview was broadcast, the JC was urging YouTube to remove a video of Mr Atwan where he reportedly “railed against ‘Jewish Israeli lobbies’ in Parliament, calling the terrorists who killed Israelis ‘martyrs’ and describing their actions as ‘a legitimate right’.” The JC also reported at the time that Mr Atwan characterised the shooting of three Israelis in Tel Aviv as a “miracle” and described the terrorist as a “hero” and those fleeing for their lives were, he claimed, “like mice”.

Campaign Against Antisemitism then revealed that Mr Atwan, who is the Editor-in-Chief of the Rai al-Youm Arabic news and opinion website, asserted in the newly-unearthed interview that “in the UK, as well as in many European countries, Israel is considered above the law. It can challenge whomever [it] wants, it can muzzle mouths.” He went on to engage in antisemitism-denial, declaring that “We have witnessed how Israel and its lobbies succeeded in sabotaging the UK Labour Party and isolating the Chairman, who is Jeremy Corbyn [sic], by means of campaigns and accusations that he is, I mean, antisemitic.”

Speaking in Arabic throughout, he also complained that he was not able to refer to a terrorist who murdered Jewish Israelis in Tel Aviv as a “martyr” because of Israeli interference in the media, saying: “Now that things have evolved so that you are forbidden from describing these martyrs as martyrs. These Israelis started interfering with everything. Look, six, I mean, colleagues, journalists, they expelled them from Deutsche Welle, the German television, just because they criticised Israel.”

He was referring to the sacking of several journalists at the German broadcaster after it emerged that they had reportedly used antisemitic language, such as saying that a “Jewish lobby controls many German institutions” to prevent criticism of Israel, and comparing Jews to “ants” that had invaded “through our weak points.”

Mr Atwan emphasised in his interview that “now the Zionists have succeeded in taking control over the media outlets,” and that “They [the Zionists] [have] become stronger than international laws, stronger than British laws, stronger than German laws.” Referring to the Tel Aviv terrorist attack in April, he insisted that “resistance is a legitimate right, all laws have enshrined it, secular and divine.”

Asked by the interviewer, “Who exactly are the bodies who aim to silence Abdel Bari Atwan and seek to incite against him in the UK?” Mr Atwan answered: “Massive institutions. Massive Jewish institutions. And institutions loyal to Israel. And there are also parties. These parties, for example, the Conservative Party, right now, it is controlled, there is control, one way or another, by these institutions, they want it to adopt what is the Israeli policy. There is also the Labour Party, there are groups, Israel’s friends in the Labour Party, Israel’s friends in the Conservative Party, it is they who want to silence us. They want to enforce the Israeli policies upon us. This is the story.

“And these people, they have deep roots in British society. However, in exchange there are people who support the right cause, the cause of justice, the Palestinian cause, and defend it. They were expelled from British parties because of these positions. But they, these people, although the number of Jews in the UK does not exceed 350,000, 400,000 people, nevertheless, they have seventy members in the House of Commons, do you hear? Seventy representatives in the British Parliament, because they have formidable financial power and economic power, and all of them form an alliance against Abdel Bari Atwan. It is because they don’t want voices. They know the extent of these voices’ influence. They know the extent to which people have reacted to these voices, the extent of the blow to their plans of obstruction and coverup in which these Jewish Israeli lobbies engage within British society. This is the gravity of the matter.”

Needless to say, there are not seventy Jewish MPs in the House of Commons and, even if there were, that should not be a cause for concern, any more than if numerous MPs from any other ethnic or religious minority were sat in Parliament in noteworthy numbers.

Mr Atwan ended by claiming that these interests were pressuring the BBC to stop featuring him, but that, he is relieved, thus far the BBC has resisted, concluding: “[They] believe that they own the entire universe, that they control all the media. This is the truth.”

The Al-Mayadeen news channel is viewed by some as pro-Hizballah and supportive of the Syrian Government.

This revelation comes after the BBC came under pressure yet again for hosting Mr Atwan after other recent inflammatory comments.

The controversy relates to a JC report that Mr Atwan recently defended Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ remark that Israel has committed “50 Holocausts” and his refusal to condemn the 1972 Munich Olympics terror attack on Israeli athletes. Mr Abbas was condemned by the German Chancellor for his comments, which he made at a joint press conference with the Chancellor on a visit to Berlin, and is facing an investigation by German police.

Mr Atwan reportedly wrote in an article for the news site Raialyoum earlier this month: “I support [Mahmoud Abbas’s] refusal to apologise for the killing of 11 Israeli participants at the 1974 (sic) Munich Olympics, and his use of the term ‘holocausts’ to describe the many massacres to which Palestinians have been subjected by Israeli forces.”

He also reportedly claimed in the article that the Munich terror attack was “not committed by Abbas or by the Black September squad that abducted them” but by “Israeli Mossad operatives and German police,” apparently adding: “[Israeli Prime Minister Yair] Lapid’s hands are soaked in the blood of Palestinian children…Israel, supported by Germany’s guilt complex, considers itself above any law and feels free to twist the facts.”

On the same day as the article, Mr Atwan appeared on the BBC’s Dateline London programme, and said in relation to the recent violent attack on the author Sir Salman Rushdie: “The Satanic Verses actually is blasphemy completely and it is offensive. You know, Salman Rushdie, he was very, very cruel when he talked about the Prophet Muhammad and his wives, and actually, to talk about the wives of the Prophet is really very, very dangerous.” The attack is believed to have been inspired by the fatwa issued and promoted by Iran’s theocratic regime, which has a long history of antisemitic policies.

In 2007, Atwan is reported to have said: “If Iranian missiles strike Israel, by Allah, I will go to Trafalgar Square and dance with delight.” In 2010, it is claimed that Atwan told an audience at the London School of Economics that “the Jewish lobby… [is] endangering the whole world”. In 2021, he is reported to have said that “Israel today is in a state of confusion and panic, they know very well that what happened in Kabul airport will repeat itself at Ben Gurion airport. But Ben Gurion Airport will be closed, there will be no planes in it, they will have no other option but to flee through the sea.  By Allah, they should listen to the advice of Hassan Nasrallah and start learning how to swim because their only option will be Cyprus, their only option will be the Mediterranean Sea.” Mr Nasrallah is the leader of the antisemitic genocidal terrorist group, Hizballah.

Mr Atwan’s remarks have drawn concern that he may be accused of having glorified terrorism.

Polling that we conducted in 2020 for our Antisemitism Barometer already revealed that two thirds of British Jews were deeply concerned by the BBC’s coverage of matters of Jewish concern, and 55% by its handling of antisemitism complaints. It is likely that these figures would be even higher if polled today.

Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors traditional media and regularly holds outlets to account. If members of the public are concerned about reportage in the media, they should contact us at [email protected].

, ,

Parliamentary inquiry into BBC bias against Jews announced followed calls by JC, backed by CAA

A Parliamentary inquiry into the BBC’s bias against Jews has been announced.

It comes following calls for such an inquiry by the JC and a petition, prompted by growing communal concerns regarding the Corporation. Campaign Against Antisemitism backed the JC’s calls.

The inquiry’s secretary will be former Labour MP Lord Austin, who bravely stood up against antisemitism in the Labour Party and is also an Honorary Patron of Campaign Against Antisemitism.

He wrote: “Members of both houses [of Parliament] have told me they are concerned about the BBC’s reporting on issues around antisemitism and Israel, especially after the Ofcom report. That is why we have established this inquiry.

“Our inquiry will be wholly impartial and rigorous and will simply aim to produce a report that offers expert guidance and recommendations for the corporation to address when it comes to antisemitism and Israel, the handling of complaints and the ‘culture of defensiveness’ identified by Ofcom.”

He was referring to Ofcom’s recent decision censuring the BBC for its “serious editorial misjudgement” over its abominable coverage of the antisemitic incident on Oxford Street last Chanukah, attacking the BBC’s failures over the course of “eight weeks” which were “causing significant distress and anxiety to the victims of the attack, and to the wider Jewish community”.

In response to that coverage, Campaign Against Antisemitism held a “BBC News: Stop Blaming Jews!” protest outside the BBC’s headquarters at Broadcasting House, which was endorsed by Lord Grade and Dame Maureen Lipman.

Other members of the inquiry’s panel include Labour peer Lord Turnberg, former Labour minister Lord Triesman, Conservative peer Baroness Eaton, former BBC Governor Baroness Deech and Baroness Fox.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “The launch of this inquiry, after a campaign led by the JC, is a critical step in bringing much-needed accountability to the BBC. The broadcaster’s biases were put under scrutiny by Ofcom, but they have been present for many years, manifested in partial and prejudiced coverage, advancement of controversial narratives, platforming of inflammatory pundits, and repeated dismissal of antisemitism complaints. That is why we have been at the forefront of efforts to hold the BBC to account, and why we supported the JC’s call for this inquiry.”

Polling that we conducted in 2020 for our Antisemitism Barometer revealed that two thirds of British Jews were deeply concerned by the BBC’s coverage of matters of Jewish concern, and 55% by its handling of antisemitism complaints. It is likely that these figures would be even higher if polled today.

Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors traditional media and regularly holds outlets to account. If members of the public are concerned about reportage in the media, they should contact us at [email protected].

, ,

Two individuals sentenced after shouting “Free Palestine” at identifiably Jewish couple in Manchester during height of Hamas war last year

Two individuals have been sentenced after shouting “Free Palestine” at an identifiably Jewish couple in Manchester last year.

The incident took place in the summer of 2021 in Crumpsall in Manchester. The victims were walking to family on Shabbat afternoon.

The police arrested two suspects – Majid Hussain and Shabna Khan– who pleaded not guilty at Manchester City Magistrates’ Court on 20th July 2022. They were found guilty at a trial at Tameside Magistrates’ Court on 31st October.

On 8th December they were sentenced, with Mr Hussain receiving a thirteen-month community order, 120 hours of unpaid work and compensation of £50 to each of the two victims. Ms Khan received a twelve-month community order, a fine of £184 and compensation of £50 to each of the two victims.

Campaign Against Antisemitism provided advice to the victims.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over five hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than five times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

,

Stephen Sizer “engaged in antisemitic activity”, Church of England tribunal finds

The disgraced Rev. Dr Stephen Sizer has been found to have “engaged in antisemitic activity” by a tribunal of the Church of England.

Rev. Dr Sizer, 68, who was ordained in 1984 and served as a vicar at Christ Church in Virginia Water, Surrey, faced eleven allegations of conduct that “provoked and offended” the Jewish community between 2005 and 2018. The Bishop of Winchester, in whose diocese Rev, Sizer’s church is located, suspended him in 2018 pending the outcome of the hearing held earlier this year.

The tribunal concluded that “the Respondent’s conduct was unbecoming to the office and work of a clerk in Holy Orders, in that he provoked and offended the Jewish community, and, in the case of allegation (H), his conduct was unbecoming, in that he engaged in antisemitic activity, all within section 8(1)(d) of the Clergy Discipline Measure.” It upheld the complaint in four instances and found a number of other allegations not to be proved.  Allegation (H) related to Rev. Dr Sizer’s “Promoting the idea that Israel was behind the terrorist attacks on 11th September 2001 by posting a link in January 2015 to the article entitled “9-11/Israel did it” that blamed Israel for the attacks.”

Following this finding by St Andrew’s Court finds, Rev. Dr Sizer could face sanctions ranging from a rebuke to expulsion from the priesthood. The tribunal is due to decide on a penalty early next year.

In a statement, the Acting Bishop of Winchester, the Rt Revd Debbie Sellin, noted that “the Revd Dr Stephen Sizer has committed misconduct under the Clergy Discipline Measure,” adding that “the legal process continues and the Tribunal will now determine a Penalty.” It concluded: “The Church of England, together with our partners in ecumenical and interfaith working, is committed to building cohesive communities and fostering strong interfaith relations built on trust and respect. As Archbishop Justin Welby said in 2018, in a joint letter with other Christian and Jewish leaders, antisemitism has no place in our society and those in positions of power and influence must listen to concerns about it.”

Rev. Dr Sizer has claimed that an Israeli conspiracy was behind 9/11, and in February 2015 he was ordered by the Church of England to stop using social media. While the Church said that the material that Rev. Dr Sizer posted was “clearly antisemitic”, the Daily Mail revealed that former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn wrote to the Church defending Rev. Dr Sizer, saying that he was being victimised because he “dared to speak out against Zionism.”

According to The Times, court documents listed allegations that included that Rev. Dr Sizer attended a London conference at which a Hizballah politician spoke in 2005; that he met with a “senior commander of Hizballah forces” in 2006; that he spoke at a conference in Indonesia at which a Holocaust denier also spoke in 2008; that he “promoted the idea that Israel was behind the terrorist attacks on 11th September 2001 by posting a link in January 2015 to an article entitled ‘9/11: Israel did it’ that blamed Israel for the attacks”; and that he posted on Facebook in 2018 that Mr Corbyn was “a victim of the hidden hands of Zionists”.

Nicholas Leviseur, presenting the case against Rev. Dr Sizer, said that the disgraced vicar was accused of “conduct unbecoming and inappropriate for a clerk in holy orders” and argued that his behaviour went “far beyond” normal political commentary or activity, adding that “there appears to have been an unusual amount of behaviour…promoting the views of others which are bluntly antisemitic in character.”

Rev. Dr Sizer’s counsel, Stephen Hofmeyr QC, argued that Rev. Dr Sizer had said “repeatedly, unreservedly and very publicly that…antisemitism must be repudiated unequivocally” in his writings about “Christian Zionism”, and had written that: “Legitimate criticism of Israeli policies towards the Palestinians must not be used as an excuse for racism or attacks against Jewish people.” He summarised that Rev. Dr Sizer’s case “is that he is not antisemitic and that his words or conduct never have been antisemitic.”

In addition to the incidents noted above, Rev. Dr Sizer allegedly told a radio programme in 2008: “My concern is with so-called Christian Zionist organisations that…equate the Gospel with helping Jews…without telling them about the Cross…my concern is with those so-called Christian organisations that do not engage in Evangelism, that do not share Jesus with Jewish people: that’s antisemitism.”

In 2010, he reportedly posted photographs of Israeli soldiers under the title “Herod’s Soldiers Operating in Bethlehem Today”, likely a reference, reminiscent of the blood libel, to the Book of Matthew where Herod orders all baby boys in Bethlehem to be killed in an effort to kill Jesus.

Among his other inflammatory comments and activities, it has been alleged that he has a history of association with elements of the far-right, and his books have reportedly been removed from sale by a leading Christian publisher.

The hearing followed the Church of England’s apology earlier this year for centuries of antisemitism.

Campaign Against Antisemitism works to raise awareness of antisemitism among all faith and minority communities.

, ,

Family charged with stirring up racial hatred through far-right songs

An Essex family has appeared in court on charges of stirring up racial hatred through the dissemination of far-right songs.

Robert Talland, 56, an accused neo-Nazi music producer, and his daughter, Rosie Talland, 30, and son, Stephen Talland, 33, are all charged with conspiracy to incite racial hatred through the distribution of sound recordings between 1st January 2019 and 10th October 2020.

Rosie and Stephen allegedly performed in the band Embers of an Empire and were said to be involved with the Rampage Productions record label, which reportedly caters to the neo-Nazi music scene.

One of the charges involves the distribution of a song by Embers of an Empire.

A second charge sees the siblings accused of inciting racial hatred over songs performed at a club in Leeds on 21st October 2021.

Robert Talland faces several charges, one of which accuses him of possession of the songs “Flame of the gods” by Mistreat and “Decase of defiance” by Squadron, a band who appear to have utilised Nazi iconography during their live performances. The songs are allegedly threatening, abusive or insulting and intended to stir up racial hatred.

He faces two further charges of disseminating a terrorist publication.

At the preliminary hearing, during which the Talland family did not enter any pleas, Mr Justice Sweeney informed the defendants of their bail conditions, which included a ban from partaking in music events commemorating Ian Stuart Donaldson, the late singer of the far-right band Skrewdriver. 

The family is also prohibited from having involvement with Rampage Productions or the far-right group Blood & Honour, who are believed to be active in working with musicians whose lyrics promote white supremacy.

Campaign Against Antisemitism closely monitors the far-right, which remains a dangerous threat to the Jewish community and other minority groups.

, , ,

Success for CAA as London venue cancels appearance from notorious antisemite Alison Chabloz

A venue in South London has cancelled a scheduled appearance from the notorious antisemite Alison Chabloz, following action by Campaign Against Antisemitism.

The Tea House Theatre, whose events have courted controversy in the past, promoted the “Year-End Review in Speech and Song” event on Twitter and Instagram, writing that Ms Chabloz “will talk about her own experiences in being cancelled”.

Lambeth’s Vauxhall Ward condemned the event, tweeting: “Shameful that @theatre_tea here in Vauxhall would welcome someone with such abhorrent views. The right to free speech is not a right to platform, and we hope they will reconsider this event.”

It added: “Antisemitism has no place in Vauxhall.”

Labour Party MP Florence Eshalomi, representing Vauxhall, expressed similar sentiments, writing: “This is worrying – #Vauxhall is a vibrant diverse constituency. I hope the venue in question will reconsider- free speech should not be a platform for people to share any form of hate, racism, discrimination or antisemitism.”

However, it has now been announced that while the event hosted by conspiracy theorist Ian Fantom will go ahead, Ms Chabloz will no longer be appearing.

Speaking to the JC, Tea House Theatre owner Harry Iggulden said: “I’ve looked now into her history a bit more, I understand a bit more of who she is and quite what a repugnant human being she is, and found myself in the position of this horrible person coming to my house.

“I put my colours to the mast a long time ago about being a free speech house, and sometimes I have to let people who I don’t agree with, speak in my house. But there are limits. And last couple of days, I’ve been weighing those limits.”

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “We are pleased that convicted Holocaust-denier Alison Chabloz will no longer be appearing at this venue. We have worked for a number of years to repeatedly send Ms Chabloz to prison over her attempts to spread her antisemitic vitriol. Her landmark conviction following a private prosecution that we initiated was the first conviction over Holocaust denial in this country. It is prudent of the venue to have heeded our call for her to be denied a platform, and we are grateful to Vauxhall Ward councillors and local MP Florence Eshalomi for their support.

“However, the venue’s continued platforming of Ian Fantom, a senior figure in the notorious Keep Talking group, who has had long affiliations with promoters of antisemitic conspiracy theories, is worrying. If the Theatre is serious about creating a safe environment for Jews, it will think twice about hosting an event organised by him.”

Earlier this year, Ms Chabloz was found guilty of a communications offence after action by Campaign Against Antisemitism.

The two-day trial at Westminster Magistrates’ Court concerned a video of the scene in the classic Oliver Twist film when Fagin, a fictitious Jewish criminal (a character that has come under significant criticism over the past century for its antisemitic depiction), is explaining to his newest recruit how his legion of children followers pick pockets. Ms Chabloz uploaded the video and sings an accompanying song of her own about how Jews are greedy, “grift” for “shekels” and cheat on their taxes.

The video appeared to be either a bizarre fundraising effort for her mounting legal costs due to numerous charges she has faced, including several ongoing prosecutions in which Campaign Against Antisemitism has provided evidence, or an attempt at mockery of Campaign Against Antisemitism for pursuing her in the courts.

At court, Ms Chabloz tried to suggest that the video was part of a personal quarrel and that her racism is directed not at “Jews” but at “Zionists”. She expressed scepticism about the facts of the Holocaust on the stand, and replicated a racist Quennelle gesture, which she has performed in the past. She rather insightfully observed that “antisemitism is not a crime. If it was, the prisons would be full.”

Ms Chabloz is a virulent antisemite and Holocaust denier who has an extensive record of using social media to publicise her hatred for Jews and to convert others to her views about Jewish people. Following a private prosecution by Campaign Against Antisemitism, which was later continued by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), Ms Chabloz became the first person in Britain to be convicted over Holocaust denial in a precedent-setting case.

Ms Chabloz is fixated on the idea that the Holocaust did not occur, and that it was fabricated by Jews and their supporters as a vehicle for fraudulently extorting money in the form of reparations. This forms the basis for her second obsession, that Jews are liars and thieves who are working to undermine Western society. Ms Chabloz is also connected to far-right movements, at whose meetings she gives speeches and performs her songs, in the UK and North America. She is currently banned from entering France, where Holocaust denial is illegal.

She is also connected to far-right movements, at whose meetings she gives speeches and performs her songs, in the UK and North America, and is currently banned from entering France, where Holocaust denial is illegal.

Earlier this year, Campaign Against Antisemitism produced a video detailing the complete history of our legal battle with Ms Chabloz, which you can watch in full here.

, , , ,

Success for CAA as new draft Online Safety Bill retains key legal provision to fight against antisemitism on the web

Campaign Against Antisemitism has applauded the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Secretary for listening to our concerns and retaining a legal provision that is critical to the fight against antisemitism on the web in the new draft of the much-anticipated Online Safety Bill.

We have had numerous calls and meetings with Michelle Donelan, some of which also included other Jewish communal partners.

We have particularly worked to ensure that the latest iteration of the ground-breaking legislation, for which we have long called, retains the criminal offence under section 127 of the Communications Act 2003. We have more experience than most in utilising this provision, which protects victims of abusive communications, including those who target people because they are Jewish.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “During the development of this legislation, we have made representations both for provisions that we would like to see included and taken out. We are grateful that the Government has listened to our suggestions and that the draft Online Safety Bill includes tough measures to regulate social media platforms. We are also pleased that it adopts our request to retain the criminal offence under section 127 of the Communications Act 2003. We have more experience than most in utilising this provision, which protects victims of abusive communications, including those who target people because they are Jewish. A previous draft of the bill eliminated this offence, which would have made it even harder to combat antisemitism online.

“Regulating the internet was always going to be an extremely difficult legislative task. We applaud the Secretary of State for DCMS for engaging widely with stakeholders and producing legislation that promises to hold online abusers and internet giants to account at last.”

, ,

London venue shamelessly set to host notorious antisemite Alison Chabloz

A venue in South London is shamelessly set to host the notorious antisemite Alison Chabloz and conspiracy theorist Ian Fantom this week.

The Tea House Theatre, whose events have courted controversy in the past, promoted the “Year-End Review in Speech and Song” event on Twitter and Instagram, writing that Ms Chabloz “will talk about her own experiences in being cancelled”.

Lambeth’s Vauxhall Ward condemned the event, tweeting: “Shameful that @theatre_tea here in Vauxhall would welcome someone with such abhorrent views. The right to free speech is not a right to platform, and we hope they will reconsider this event.”

It added: “Antisemitism has no place in Vauxhall.”

Labour Party MP Florence Eshalomi, representing Vauxhall, expressed similar sentiments, writing: “This is worrying – #Vauxhall is a vibrant diverse constituency. I hope the venue in question will reconsider- free speech should not be a platform for people to share any form of hate, racism, discrimination or antisemitism.”

Earlier this year, Ms Chabloz was found guilty of a communications offence after action by Campaign Against Antisemitism.

The two-day trial at Westminster Magistrates’ Court concerned a video of the scene in the classic Oliver Twist film when Fagin, a fictitious Jewish criminal (a character that has come under significant criticism over the past century for its antisemitic depiction), is explaining to his newest recruit how his legion of children followers pick pockets. Ms Chabloz uploaded the video and sings an accompanying song of her own about how Jews are greedy, “grift” for “shekels” and cheat on their taxes.

The video appeared to be either a bizarre fundraising effort for her mounting legal costs due to numerous charges she has faced, including several ongoing prosecutions in which Campaign Against Antisemitism has provided evidence, or an attempt at mockery of Campaign Against Antisemitism for pursuing her in the courts.

At court, Ms Chabloz tried to suggest that the video was part of a personal quarrel and that her racism is directed not at “Jews” but at “Zionists”. She expressed scepticism about the facts of the Holocaust on the stand, and replicated a racist Quennelle gesture, which she has performed in the past. She rather insightfully observed that “antisemitism is not a crime. If it was, the prisons would be full.”

Ms Chabloz is a virulent antisemite and Holocaust denier who has an extensive record of using social media to publicise her hatred for Jews and to convert others to her views about Jewish people. Following a private prosecution by Campaign Against Antisemitism, which was later continued by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), Ms Chabloz became the first person in Britain to be convicted over Holocaust denial in a precedent-setting case.

Ms Chabloz is fixated on the idea that the Holocaust did not occur, and that it was fabricated by Jews and their supporters as a vehicle for fraudulently extorting money in the form of reparations. This forms the basis for her second obsession, that Jews are liars and thieves who are working to undermine Western society. Ms Chabloz is also connected to far-right movements, at whose meetings she gives speeches and performs her songs, in the UK and North America. She is currently banned from entering France, where Holocaust denial is illegal.

She is also connected to far-right movements, at whose meetings she gives speeches and performs her songs, in the UK and North America, and is currently banned from entering France, where Holocaust denial is illegal.

Earlier this year, Campaign Against Antisemitism produced a video detailing the complete history of our legal battle with Ms Chabloz, which you can watch in full here.

, ,

Newly-elected cricket club chairman steps aside after being revealed to have ‘liked’ “Zionist lobby” tweets

A newly-elected cricket club chairman has stepped aside whilst an independent review takes place after he was found to have ‘liked’ a series of inflammatory tweets.

The revelation came as the JC exposed Azeem Akhtar’s questionable social media history, revealing that he had ‘liked’ tweets referring to the “Zionist lobby” as well as posts comparing Israel to the Nazis.  

Mr Akhtar was announced as Chairman of Essex County Cricket Club earlier this week. However, shortly after, several concerning tweets seemingly endorsed by the Chairman surfaced, including one which read: “It is not offensive to say that the Pro–Israel and Zionist lobby have deep pockets and oversized influence/control over the media.”

Another read: “Comparing Israel with Nazis is not antisemitic. In fact, many Jewish people have done so themselves.”

According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” is an example of antisemitism.

A further tweet ‘liked’ by Mr Akhtar said: “The fact that ‘from the river to the sea’ unsettles Zionists is all the more reason to keep saying it.”

The chant of “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” only makes sense as a call for the destruction of the world’s only Jewish state — and its replacement with a State of Palestine — and is thus an attempt to deny Jews, uniquely, the right to self-determination, which is a breach of the Definition.

He was also found to have ‘liked’ tweets by the inflammatory rapper and activist, Lowkey, who has reportedly claimed that the “mainstream media” has “weaponised the Jewish heritage” of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to “stave off” inquiries about far-right groups in Ukraine. He has also appeared on the disgraced former MP Chris Williamson’s show on Press TV, an Iranian state-owned news network whose British broadcasting licence was revoked by Ofcom in 2012. Lowkey has appeared alongside the disgraced academic David Miller, and was recently embroiled in a controversy at the National Union of Students.

Shortly after the publication of the JC’s investigation, Mr Akhter admitted that he had ‘liked’ the tweets in question allegedly due to being upset with the violence that had taken place last year between Israel and the antisemitic genocidal terrorist group, Hamas. 

However, he “vehemently” denied being antisemitic and said that he wants “the Jewish community to feel they had the most Jewish friendly chairman of Essex County Cricket Club they’ve ever had.”

In a newly released statement, Mr Akhtar said: “I have taken the decision today to voluntarily step aside as Chair of Essex County Cricket Club while an independent review takes place into recent matters that have been raised.

“I have made the decision to initiate this review because it is important that I as Chair and Essex County Cricket Club more widely hold ourselves to the highest standards of governance and accountability. By stepping aside, I want to show leadership and ensure the Club can focus on the ongoing challenges it is tackling.

“I am resolutely committed to ensuring that Essex County Cricket Club is an inclusive and welcoming environment for people of all backgrounds.”

This is not the first time that antisemitism-related controversies have arisen in cricket.

Earlier this year, both Azeem Rafiq and Andrew Gale were reprimanded by the Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC) for historic antisemitic social media posts and acting in a way that is “prejudicial to the interests of cricket”.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Several of the tweets ‘liked’ by Azeem Akhtar breach the International Definition of Antisemitism. Comparisons between Israel and Nazis and comments about the ‘Zionist lobby’ are indefensible regardless, but in light of recent high-profile controversies relating to antisemitism in cricket, these tweets feel that much more odious.

“Having called for an investigation into Mr Akhtar’s social media activity, we welcome the independent review. But it must act swiftly and decisively to show that Mr Akhtar’s repugnant views have no place in the sport.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism continues to act against instances of anti-Jewish racism in all sports.

, ,

Antisemitic graffiti discovered at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium during boxing event

Antisemitic graffiti was discovered last night at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium during a boxing event.

The graffiti that was discovered during the event, which saw Derek Chisora take on Tyson Fury, read “Yid c****” accompanied by a swastika.

The graffiti is understood to have been scrawled in one of the cubicles of the male toilets near block 118.   

, ,

Bristol University students chant “From the river to the sea” in protest of speaker

Students at the University of Bristol have been recorded chanting “From the river to the sea” in protest of a speaker at the University’s union. 

The chant of “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” only makes sense as a call for the destruction of the world’s only Jewish state — and its replacement with a State of Palestine — and is thus an attempt to deny Jews, uniquely, the right to self-determination, which is a breach of the International Definition of Antisemitism.

Last night’s event, where the speaker was Charlotte Korchak, the Senior Educator at StandWithUs, was protested by members of the University’s Friends of Palestine society.

Ms Korchak wrote on her Instagram story how the society were invited to partake in the event but declined, only to arrive later to protest. She added how, following the event, she had to be escorted out of the premises by six security guards.

The University adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism in 2019, following a controversial debate.

Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors the adoption of the Definition by universities.

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].

, ,

The “Queen of Jewish positivity” on how to safely tackle antisemitism

Karen Cinnamon, a businesswoman and influencer who has been dubbed “the world’s number one Jewish wedding expert” and the “Queen of Jewish positivity”, appeared on the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism where she gave her advice on safely tackling antisemitism.

Ms Cinnamon is the founder of both Smashing The Glass, the world’s biggest Jewish wedding media platform, and Smashing Life, a private club for Jewish women, who has been featured in numerous publications such as the New York Times, BBC and Mail Online.

On being asked how to challenge antisemitism in a safe manner, Ms Cinnamon said: “I wouldn’t say ‘That’s crazy! That’s an antisemitic thing to say!’ I would elegantly unpack it and explain why its harmful to Jews. That’s the way to talk about things.”

However, the businesswoman admitted that this approach does not apply to everyone.

“I want to caveat by saying I wouldn’t open that conversation up with a manic Jew-hater. It’s more about the masses in the middle that maybe don’t realise their actions could be harmful to Jews.

“I wouldn’t say its a blanket thing,” she clarified, adding that her conversational approach applies more to family and friends who might be more willing to listen.

“Gently unpack it and point it out, always in a less aggressive, more compassionate tone coming from a point of ‘Did you know that what you just said is actually really harmful to Jews?’”

Ms Cinnamon added, however, that in order to challenge antisemitism, it is vital that one is sufficiently educated on the matter: “It’s really hard to pull apart things without doing the research and understanding why what they’ve said is harmful to Jews.

“Me, personally, I’ve had to deal with it online, and I don’t really go there online, because [there are] lots of keyboard warriors. You’ve got to choose, especially when you have a public platform like me, where you want to put your energy.”

Ms Cinnamon also spoke on the importance of looking after one’s mental health when challenging antisemitism. 

“Protect your mental health first. Don’t feel that you are a spokesperson for the Jewish people and you have to always point out and educate. Mental health first,” she said.

Throughout the interview, Ms Cinnamon also discussed the challenges faced by Jewish women, why she won’t judge other Jews and her secret to happiness.

This podcast can be listened to here, or watched here.

Podcast Against Antisemitism, produced by Campaign Against Antisemitism, talks to a different guest about antisemitism each week. It streams every Thursday and is available through all major podcast apps and YouTube. You can also subscribe to have new episodes sent straight to your inbox.

Previous guests have included comedian David Baddiel, television personality Robert Rinder, writer Eve Barlow, Grammy-Award-winning singer-songwriter Autumn Rowe, and actor Eddie Marsan.

,

John Ware wins £90,000 in libel case against Press Gang’s Paddy French

John Ware, the maker of the BBC Panorama documentary “Is Labour Antisemitic”, has won a total of £90,000 in his libel lawsuit against the Editor of the Press Gang blog.

The lawsuit against Paddy French centred on claims made by Mr French that the Panorama documentary “bent the truth to breaking point” and was a “rogue piece of journalism”. Mr French reportedly disseminated the comment to over 100 senior figures at the BBC, Channel 4 News, Sky News, LBC, The Guardian, The Times and other newspapers.

Mr Ware had originally sued Mr French for £50,000, but received more following Mr French’s decision not to appear in court.

Mr Ware commented: “I wanted my day in court…But not just this unsatisfactory one-sided affair…I wanted my day in court but Mr French has slithered away.”

The judge, Mr Justice Julian Knowles, decided to proceed with the one-hour hearing without Mr French present, noting that “he had no defence” and that his withdrawal of the truth defence had “seriously exacerbated the damage caused” to Mr Ware.

The court concluded that Mr French’s statements caused serious harm to Mr Ware’s reputation as a journalist and awarded him a total of £90,000 in damages. The judge also issued a permanent injunction stopping Mr French from repeating the allegations.

Mr Ware previously received an apology in open court from Jewish Voice for Labour’s Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi following libel claims brought against her.

The Labour Party was found by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to have engaged in unlawful discrimination and harassment of Jews. The report followed the EHRC’s investigation of the Labour Party in which Campaign Against Antisemitism was the complainant, submitting hundreds of pages of evidence and legal argument. Sir Keir Starmer called the publication of the report a “day of shame” for the Labour Party.

, ,

“You better watch yourself, boy”: Jewish man threatened outside JW3 

A Jewish man was threatened outside JW3, a Jewish cultural centre in London, last week.

The incident occurred at around 22:00 on 27th November when the man, who was wearing a kippah (skullcap) at the time, was approached by a group of three, all wearing hoods.

The man was talking to his friends when the group walked past and one member yelled “Free Palestine” at him.

A verbal exchange took place between the two groups, culminating in one of the aggressors telling the man: “You better watch yourself, boy.”

Image credit: Google

,

Reported assault on elderly Jewish man in Leeds being treated as hate crime 

An elderly Jewish man was reportedly assaulted in Leeds in what the police are deeming a possible hate crime.

West Yorkshire Police have stated that at approximately 18:55 on 26th October, a cyclist travelling in the wrong direction without lights swore and threatened a man in his seventies following an altercation.

A security guard from a nearby Aldi intervened and the suspect left the scene, only to return a short moment later.

The incident happened on Stanningley Road, in Bramley.

Anyone with relevant information is asked to call PC 1918 Keany at Elland Road on 101, quoting crime reference 13220591822.

Image credit: West Yorkshire Police

, ,

Queen Mary University Students’ Union shamefully votes to disaffiliate from NUS citing removal of Shaima Dallali without mention of antisemitism allegations

Queen Mary University Students’ Union has passed a motion to disaffiliate from the National Union of Students (NUS) following its removal of Shaima Dallali earlier this month.

Ms Dallali was removed from her position as NUS President amidst investigations into her conduct following allegations of antisemitism.

However, nowhere in yesterday’s motion was there any mention of the antisemitism allegations.

Ms Dallali’s removal came after she became the first President in the Union’s 100-year history to have been suspended. The decision to remove Ms Dallali is subject to appeal.

The removal follows an internal investigation conducted by NUS, while an independent investigation is underway, led by Rebecca Tuck KC. Campaign Against Antisemitism has provided input into the latter investigation.

The investigations arose following a string of controversies surrounding the NUS and its leadership, and were announced after Robert Halfon MP wrote together with Campaign Against Antisemitism to the Charity Commission calling for an investigation into the Union’s charitable arm. The full dossier on NUS, produced by Campaign Against Antisemitism, can be read here. In addition, over twenty former NUS Presidents wrote a letter expressing their “serious concerns about antisemitism”, and another letter, organised by the Union of Jewish Students (UJS) and signed by over 1,000 Jewish students and allies, called for NUS to launch an independent investigation.

The Queen Mary University Students’ Union motion accused the NUS of having “spread of anti-Palestinian racism” which was a “part of a wider pattern of endemic and systematic bigotry and prejudice,” calling the removal of Ms Dallali is a “direct attack on pro-Palestine student activism.”

Another motion was also proposed which endorsed the BDS movement to boycott Israel, the tactics of which an overwhelming majority of British Jews find intimidating.

In a statement on Friday, Queen Mary Jewish and Israel Society criticised both the proposal to disaffiliate and the fact that the Society had not been informed by the Students’ Union of the motion.

In a joint statement with the Union of Jewish Students, Queen Mary Jewish and Israel Society addressed the motion, stating Jewish students at the University “feel betrayed and let down by their Students’ Union, with many Jewish students now feeling unsafe in their own Students’ Union which shrugs its shoulders at the expense of Jewish students.”

Last year, Queen Mary University Students’ Union failed to represent and show solidarity with their Jewish members by adopting the Jerusalem Declaration, which is a wrecking document intended to undermine the globally-recognised International Definition of Antisemitism. The University’s decision to repeal the Definition was reportedly not discussed with Jewish students, who reacted with disgust.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Of all the reasons that there may be to disaffiliate from NUS, it is revealing that QMUL Students’ Union did so because of the sacking of Shaima Dallali as NUS President. Her inflammatory social media activity alienated Jewish students even more from NUS, which already had an atrocious record on Jewish issues. Yet this first remedial step that the Union has taken to affirm that Jewish concerns do actually matter was too much for QMUL’s SU. This motion, which did not even include reference to antisemitism, comes after QMUL adoption of the ‘Jerusalem Declaration’ earlier this year. QMUL has made it abundantly clear what it thinks of the views of Jewish students.”

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].

,

Identifiably Jewish Derbyshire man “shaken” following antisemitic incidents

An identifiably Jewish man from Chesterfield, Derbyshire has spoken out after a series of alleged antisemitic incidents in the area.

The man, who chose to remain anonymous, said that he “saw the Star of David graffiti at first and I felt a little bit shaken, but it didn’t really get to me.” 

However, he added that due to “the repetitive nature of these incidents, the fact that it’s been happening consistently got to me. When it keeps happening, it grinds you down.”

In addition to the Star of David graffiti, swastika graffiti was reportedly seen as well.

The Jewish man stated that as an identifiably Jewish person living in the area, he began to think: “Who’s doing this? Do they really have a problem with me? What’s beneath all this? It’s really worrying and I’m concerned.”

In another example of what the man felt was targeted harassment, a passerby allegedly yelled out ‘Hitler’ towards him.

He believed that the perpetrator was a young child or a teenager. “When I turned around to see who it was, they ran away. It was a very cowardly thing to do,” he said.

A spokesperson for Derbyshire Police said: “Officers are carrying out enquiries following a number of reports of antisemitic graffiti in the Middlecroft area which have taken place during October and November. We take hate crime extremely seriously and are committed to identifying those responsible. If anyone has any information that could help us with our enquiries, please get in touch on the details below, quoting reference 22*671209.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over five hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than five times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

, ,

Man sentenced after yelling “I’ll blow you up, you f***ing Jew” to Jewish man

A man has been sentenced after yelling “I’ll blow you up, you f***ing Jew” to a Jewish man earlier this year.

Earlier this month, Paul Daniel Newman, 57, was found guilty at Stratford Magistrates Court of racially or religiously aggravated disorderly behaviour as well as causing fear or provocation of violence.

At this week’s sentencing, Mr Newman of Ealing was handed 20 weeks imprisonment, suspended for 18 months.

He was also ordered to comply with 30 days rehabilitation activity requirement and six months in an alcohol treatment programme. 

In addition, he must also pay £625 prosecution costs and £154 victim surcharge.

Varinder Hayre, CPS District Crown Prosecutor and London North Hate Crime lead, said: “London is a diverse City and it is completely unacceptable for the Jewish community to be subjected to this kind of antisemitic hatred. Hate crime will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted robustly. 

“I’d also like to thank the Metropolitan Police for their diligence in helping to ensure justice for the victim and providing victim support.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism works closely with Shomrim, with whom we have a data-sharing agreement.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

, ,

“Are you a f***ing Jew?”: Journalist Nicole Lampert on the disturbing phone calls made to her son

Nicole Lampert, the freelance journalist, best-selling ghostwriter and former Showbusiness Editor of the Daily Mail, appeared on the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism where she disclosed that her teenage son was the victim of aggressive, threatening phone calls based on his Jewish identity.

Discussing last year’s incident, Ms Lampert said: “We were on holiday in Norfolk and my son gets a phone call, and it was from an anonymous number. ‘Are you a f***ing Jew?’ And he said, ‘What?’.

“[The Caller] said ‘Don’t say “what”, just answer the question. Are you a f***ing Jew?’. And [her son] said ‘Yes’, and [the Caller] said ‘Watch your back.”

Ms Lampert continued: “That frightened my son, and we weren’t at home. He was frightened enough to say ‘Can you get a neighbour to go round and just check the house?’ He didn’t know who it was. He had an idea who it was. It wasn’t someone from his school.”

Ms Lampert added that her son continued to receive anonymous phone calls throughout the week.

“That, he found hard. But generally, he’s okay, I would say. It’s quite a young lesson to learn…antisemitism has risen,” the journalist said, adding that her son was also witnessing antisemitism on social media. 

In addition, a fellow student at her son’s student called her son “Jew”, in what Ms Lampert described as “in a nasty way, to his face”, which she felt was as a result of the conflict between Israel and the antisemitic genocidal terrorist group, Hamas.

Ms Lampert added that she was contacted by a fellow Jewish parent at the school who asked her: “How are your boys? Because my daughter is afraid to go to school because her friends have been posting stuff on social media.”

The content in question allegedly referred to conspiracy theories pertaining to Jewish people and Israel. 

Last year, in response to similar concerns, Campaign Against Antisemitism published a short resource on “What to do about antisemitism at school” for children and parents, which helps identify antisemitism using the International Definition of Antisemitism and provides pointers on how to act when antisemitic incidents arise. 

Throughout the interview, Ms Lampert discussed her extensive primer on antisemitism within the Labour Party, her own experiences of online antisemitism and stories from her life as a showbiz writer.

This podcast can be listened to here, or watched here.

Podcast Against Antisemitism, produced by Campaign Against Antisemitism, talks to a different guest about antisemitism each week. It streams every Thursday and is available through all major podcast apps and YouTube. You can also subscribe to have new episodes sent straight to your inbox.

Previous guests have included comedian David Baddiel, television personality Robert Rinder, writer Eve Barlow, Grammy-Award-winning singer-songwriter Autumn Rowe, and actor Eddie Marsan.

, ,

Rangers supporter convicted of performing Nazi salute during game against German team

A supporter of Rangers Football Club has been convicted of performing a Nazi salute during a game against German team RB Leipzig.

Josh Smith, 29, was found guilty at Glasgow Sheriff Court of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner which was racially aggravated for performing the Nazi gesture on 5th May at Rangers’ Ibrox Stadium.

Mr Smith of Inverclyde initially denied performing the gesture when questioned by police and instead claimed that the gesture was for the “hand and the Crown.”

PC Mark Boyd, who was on call during the game that day and who witnessed Mr Smith perform the Nazi salute, said that he felt “disgusted that someone would do these gestures in this day and age.”

The defendant insisted to the court that the gesture was in reference to the “red hand of Ulster and the Crown” due to the affiliation between Northern Ireland and Rangers, adding: “For me the red hand was a symbol of not surrendering…the tie went to two-two and it was on a knife edge. I was merely signalling we would not surrender and continue to fight.”

Mr Smith was fined £790 and has been banned from attending all football matches in the United Kingdom for six months.

Earlier this year, a Rangers fan was banned by the Club from attending future matches after he appeared to have also performed a Nazi salute during a friendly match against West Ham United.

Campaign Against Antisemitism continues to act against instances of anti-Jewish racism in all sports.

,

Labour Party faces “eye-watering” legal costs relating to allegations of antisemitism 

It has been reported that the Labour Party faces potential costs of up to £5 million in legal claims and counterclaims.

The legal claim against the Party was launched by nine former Labour staffers-turned-whistleblowers who were criticised in a controversial internal report into the handling of antisemitism cases by the Party. The report, which was a last ditch attempt to discredit allegations of antisemitism in the Party, was intended to be sent to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) as part of its landmark investigation into Labour antisemitism, in which Campaign Against Antisemitism was the complainant. 

The Party has since launched a counterclaim against five of its former staffers, who it claims are responsible for the leak of the internal report. In the counterclaim, the Party named Karie Murphy, a trade unionist and Jeremy Corbyn’s chief of staff, whose nomination for a peerage was blocked; Laura Murray, a disgraced Corbyn aide who was appointed to lead the Labour Party’s disciplinary process; Harry Hayball, a staffer in Labour’s Governance and Legal Unit and former Head of Digital Communications at Momentum who was reportedly labelled as the author in the report’s metadata; Seamus Milne, the far-left journalist who served as Mr Corbyn’s Executive Director of Strategy and Communications; and George Robertson, who worked in Labour’s communications team.

After the data breach, Labour self-reported to the Information Commissioner’s Office. The ICO’s investigation is ongoing.

As the Party faces a potential legal bill in the millions, it has also revealed that it has a £4.8 million deficit in its finances.

A spokesperson for the Labour Party said: “It would be inappropriate to comment on an ongoing legal case.”

Joe Glasman, Head of Political and Government Investigations at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “These are eye-watering legal costs, but they are just a reflection of the real price of Labour’s history of antisemitism denial, which is to demean victims and gaslight whistleblowers who have revealed the depth of anti-Jewish racism in the Party. It is extraordinary how the ‘life-long anti-racist’ former leaders of Labour thought it appropriate to expend such vast sums challenging racism claims instead of the racism itself, and that the current Labour leadership are still so willing to expend treasure in refusing to settle with those who worked to bring Labour’s proven antisemitism to light. Under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, Labour became morally bankrupt, and these figures show that financial bankruptcy is still a risk that Labour is willing to take to conceal that rot.” 

The Labour Party was found by the EHRC to have engaged in unlawful discrimination and harassment of Jews. The report followed the EHRC’s investigation of the Labour Party in which Campaign Against Antisemitism was the complainant, submitting hundreds of pages of evidence and legal argument. Sir Keir Starmer called the publication of the report a “day of shame” for the Labour Party.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.

Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.

, ,

Far-right music festival cancelled in Scotland

A far-right music festival which was scheduled to have taken place in Bathgate, Scotland has been cancelled.

The festival, which was called a “Nazi event” by anti-racist activists, was set to go ahead this weekend. 

The organisers of the event were reported to be the far-right group Blood & Honour, who are believed to be active in working with musicians whose lyrics promote white supremacy.

One band that was scheduled to appear was the group Mistreat, a band from Finland whose songs are said to contain violent lyrics and have been photographed performing in front of swastika flags.

The festival’s cancellation arises following condemnation from politicians, including representatives from the SNP and the Liberal Democrats. 

Martyn Day, the SNP MP for Linlithgow & East Falkirk, said that “There is no place for such abhorrent hatred in Scotland,” while Sally Pattle, a Liberal Democrat councillor on West Lothian council, added that she found the event “deeply concerning” and said that the festival’s organisers had “a history of spewing far-right bile and hatred and no one wants their brand of ideological nonsense in our area, or anywhere else for that matter.”

Advocacy group Hope Not Hate said of the incident: “It looks like the organisers have been well and truly spooked and are moving to a back-up venue.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism closely monitors the far-right, which remains a dangerous threat to the Jewish community and other minority groups.

,

Home Secretary expresses concern after charges are dropped against all suspects in “F*** the Jews…rape their daughters” convoy

The Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, has expressed concern after Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) dropped all charges against the remaining suspects in a notorious convoy that drove through London in May 2021.

As fighting flared in Gaza, a convoy waving the flag of the Palestinian Authority set off from the north of England, heading into London. Men in one of the cars shouted from a megaphone: “F*** the Jews…f*** all of them. F*** their mothers, f*** their daughters, and show your support for Palestine.” The speaker went on to call listeners to “Rape their [the Jews’] daughters”. The incident took place a very short distance from a synagogue and was condemned by the Prime Minister and Home Secretary.

The car was part of a convoy of some 200 cars displaying Palestinian Authority flags which started in Bradford, passing through Sheffield and Leicester down the M1 motorway before veering into Hendon and Golders Green, two North London neighbourhoods with large Jewish populations. According to witnesses, convoy participants shouted abuse at Jewish passersby, including: “Free Palestine! Go back to Poland”.

Ms Braverman said to the Home Affairs Select Committee hearing that, on the issue of tackling antisemitic hate crime, “enforcing against it is, in some regards, not sufficiently done,” adding: “I do share your concern.”

The Home Secretary said that she wanted to “take this issue away” but added that she would “not commit to a full review” as there were “many, many reviews going on at the home office and all for important reasons.”

In light of the dropped charges, Campaign Against Antisemitism has demanded that the Director of Public Prosecutions, Max Hill KC, “immediately explain this decision or resign” and is exploring its legal options.

The astounding news of the dropped charges against Mohammed Iftikhar Hanif, 27, and Jawaad Hussain, 24, comes four months after the announcement in July by the CPS that it had dropped charges against Asif Ali, 25, and Adil Mota, 26, who had also until then been suspected of being involved. 

This now means that all charges against the four original suspects have been dropped.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over five hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than five times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

, ,

Cambridge students chant “From the river to the sea” in protest of speaker

Students at the University of Cambridge have been recorded chanting “From the river to the sea” in protest of a speaker at the University’s union. 

The chant of “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” only makes sense as a call for the destruction of the world’s only Jewish state — and its replacement with a State of Palestine — and is thus an attempt to deny Jews, uniquely, the right to self-determination, which is a breach of the International Definition of Antisemitism.

Wednesday evening’s event, which was organised by the Pinsker Centre, a British think-tank with a focus on international policy, and where the speaker was Dan Meridor, Israel’s former Deputy Prime Minister, was protested by approximately 50 students.

A spokesperson for the University’s union reportedly told the Varsity student newspaper that “the Cambridge Union is strongly committed to our founding principle of promoting Free Speech. The Union’s role is to create a safe space in which to discuss difficult topics and provide members with the opportunity to cross examine them. The format of our speaker events offers members a unique opportunity to directly question powerful and high profile figures”.

Earlier this year, the University was rocked by antisemitic chanting and graffiti in connection with a visit by the Israeli ambassador.

The University of Cambridge adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism in 2020.

Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors the adoption of the International Definition of Antisemitism by universities.

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].

,

Pete Willsman finally expelled from Labour Party

The veteran Labour Party activist, Pete Willsman, has finally been expelled from the Party in relation to antisemitism.

Mr Willsman was even a member of Labour’s ruling National Executive Council (NEC) until he was suspended from the Party in May 2019 after a recording emerged of a conversation between him and the author Tuvia Tenenbom.

In the conversation, which was reportedly recorded without Mr Willsman’s knowledge, Mr Willsman allegedly claimed that Labour’s antisemitism crisis was “all lies” and that critics of Jeremy Corbyn were using claims of antisemitism to “whip people up”.

Mr Willsman allegedly said: “It’s almost certain who is behind all this antisemitism against Jeremy…Almost certainly it was the Israeli embassy. Because they caught somebody in the Labour Party – it turns out they were an agent in the embassy. The thing is that the people that are in the Labour Party doing it are people who are linked…one of them works indirectly for the Israeli embassy.”

Claiming that the Israeli Embassy was behind allegations of antisemitism in the Labour Party is a popular antisemitic trope.

Mr Willsman also previously said that he had never seen antisemitism in Labour, blaming Jewish “Trump fanatics” for inventing the problem. When 68 rabbis wrote a joint open letter to the Party alleging “severe and widespread” antisemitism, he challenged them to show evidence.

Already two years ago, Sir Keir Starmer admitted that the investigation into Mr Willsman was taking too long.

Jewish Voice for Labour, an antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation, defended Mr Willsman, telling the JC: “The expulsion of long-serving Labour Party NEC member Pete Willsman is the inevitable conclusion of a process which has seen hundreds of left wingers driven out on the basis of unfounded allegations of antisemitism. The current party leadership has been clear that it intends to eradicate all trace of the Corbyn era, waging a factional campaign that has nothing to do with protecting Jews from antisemitism.”

Also reportedly expelled from Labour was the former Unite delegate to Labour’s NEC, Martin Mayer, apparently in connection with his alleged support for the proscribed antisemitism-denial group, Labour Against Witchhunt.

Meanwhile, Ruth George, a former Labour MP who now sits as a local councillor, was reportedly joined by Shadow Equalities Secretary Anneliese Dodds for a campaigning event, in spite of Ms George’s troubling record.

Recently, Ms George declined to put herself forward to become Labour’s candidate once more in High Peak.

The Labour Party was found by the EHRC to have engaged in unlawful discrimination and harassment of Jews. The report followed the EHRC’s investigation of the Labour Party in which Campaign Against Antisemitism was the complainant, submitting hundreds of pages of evidence and legal argument. Sir Keir Starmer called the publication of the report a “day of shame” for the Labour Party.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.

Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.

,

Conservative councillor resigns after ties to fascist group emerge

A Conservative Party councillor has resigned after his ties to a far-right group have emerged. 

Andy Weatherhead, who represented Hythe West on Kent County Council, was revealed to be a senior officer for the New British Union (NBU), a self-described fascist organisation.

His resignation came shortly after he was suspended by the Conservatives.

The NBU, whose motto is “restoring faith in fascism”, uses the same symbol as its predecessor, the British Union of Fascists, a 1930s group led by Oswald Mosley that infamously clashed with Jews and anti-fascist campaigners at Cable Street in East London.

The news came following an investigation by anti-racist group Hope Not Hate, who claimed that Mr Weatherhead wrote a blog in which he railed against the government for “appeasing the British and International Jewish lobby, whilst allowing the British people to be feed [sic] lie after lie through the Jewish controlled Press and Media,” and attended a rally by the neo-Nazi organisation Golden Dawn.

According to the investigation, Mr Weatherhead was appointed as the NBU’s business officer in April 2013 until at least February 2014. He also held the position of Policy Officer in May 2013 under the name ‘Andy Blackhouse’.

Additionally, images of Mr Weatherhead, who also went under the name Andrew Beadle within the far-right group, of him wearing the NBU insignia on his jacket surfaced.

Other images included the former councillor pictured alongside three men who would go on to form the proscribed neo-Nazi group National Action, including Mark Jones, the former partner of Alice Cutter, known colloquially as “Miss Hitler” after entering a far-right beauty pageant. 

Mr Weatherhead reportedly ran under UKIP four times before eventually deciding to run for the Conservative Party.

Stephen James, Chairman of Folkestone and Hythe Conservative Association, said: “I welcome the news that Mr Andrew Weatherhead, has resigned from Kent County Council and Dymchurch Parish Council and must reiterate that the abhorrent images and associations described in the article have no place in our association or the Conservative Party.

“As a British Army veteran, I know more than most the consequences if we do not defend, champion and promote democracy and the rule of law.”

Mr Weatherhead addressed the reports saying that he believed the “optic [sic] of these pictures is poor and potentially upsetting for some,” adding: “For this I can and do sincerely apologise.”

He added that his involvement with NBU was “brief” and that he looks back on that time with “regret and personal disappointment”.

Campaign Against Antisemitism closely monitors the far-right, which remains a dangerous threat to the Jewish community and other minority groups.

Image credit Hope Not Hate

,

MI5 Director General warns of 3D-printed guns by far-right extremists

The Director General of MI5, the counter-intelligence and security agency, has warned of far-right extremists utilising 3D-printed guns.

Ken McCallum spoke of a danger of violence, adding that teenagers as young as thirteen are being recruited amid a “confused soup of hate” online spread by “right-wing extremist influencers”.

He added that MI5 had expressed concern over the far-right’s intent to procure “firearms in particular, whether illegally obtained, homemade or 3D-printed”.

“From the comfort of their bedrooms, individuals are easily able to access right-wing extremist spaces, network with each other and move towards a radical mindset,” he said. “Often weapons are sought for their own sake, well in advance of any specific targeting intent developing, making for difficult risk management judgments and forcing early intervention.”

Last year, a teenage neo-Nazi was jailed for eleven years after using the social media platform Telegram in his plan to kill his former friend, who is Asian, for allegedly sleeping with white women. The Old Bailey heard that Matthew Cronjager had attempted to obtain a 3D-printed gun or a sawn-off shotgun to commit the murder. 

Campaign Against Antisemitism closely monitors the far-right, which remains a dangerous threat to the Jewish community and other minority groups.

,

Jeremy Corbyn’s former spokesperson joins Green Party, as Labour reveals 65 percent of disciplinary cases relate to antisemitism

Jeremy Corbyn’s former spokesperson has joined the Green Party.

The move comes as speculation mounts that Mr Corbyn will be barred from running as a candidate for the Labour Party in the next general election.

Matt Zarb-Cousin said that a “factional war” against the left of the Party had been “executed from the top down.”

Mr Zarb-Cousin, who served as a spokesperson for Mr Corbyn when the latter was leader of the Labour Party, complained that left-wingers were “no longer welcome in the Labour Party” and, blaming Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer for the change in climate, urged others to defect.

Mr Zarb-Cousin, who also helped to run Rebecca Long-Bailey’s abortive Labour leadership bid, also said that Labour’s apparent decision not to restore the whip to Mr Corbyn “sealed and confirmed” his decision to quit the Party.

Explaining his decision to move to the Greens, Mr Zarb-Cousin said: “Obviously I was attracted to the Greens’ policies on the climate crisis and proportional representation, which are the two most important things going forward for the country. Democratic socialists are no longer welcome in the Labour Party and there is a strong case for them to join the Greens and push for proportional representation,which will give our views and politics more influence.”

Mr Zarb-Cousin said of others moving to the Greens: “I’m hearing that left-wing members have left and other people are thinking about it. I think there will be more.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism has repeatedly warned that the Green Party risks becoming a haven for far-left exiles from the Labour Party.

Meanwhile, the pro-Corbyn pressure group Momentum is reportedly warning its supporters that its future is in financial peril due to the flight of far-left members from the Labour Party.

These developments come as the Labour Party revealed that 65 percent of disciplinary cases heard by Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) since May have related to antisemitism.

Labour has allegedly claimed that the backlog of cases from the period of Mr Corbyn’s leadership has been cleared. However, the Party has yet to address the complaints submitted by Campaign Against Antisemitism against over a dozen sitting MPs.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has lodged a complaint against Jeremy Corbyn, holding him responsible for conduct that is prejudicial or grossly detrimental to the Labour Party, as the Leader during the period of the EHRC’s shameful findings. Given the serious detriment that this conduct has caused, we are seeking Mr Corbyn’s immediate resuspension and, if the complaint is upheld, we will be requesting his expulsion. On the day of the publication of the EHRC’s report, we also submitted a major complaint against Mr Corbyn and other sitting MPs. These complaints are yet to be acknowledged by the Party, and they must be investigated by an independent disciplinary process that the EHRC has demanded and Sir Keir has promised but has yet to introduce.

The Labour Party was found by the EHRC to have engaged in unlawful discrimination and harassment of Jews. The report followed the EHRC’s investigation of the Labour Party in which Campaign Against Antisemitism was the complainant, submitting hundreds of pages of evidence and legal argument. Sir Keir Starmer called the publication of the report a “day of shame” for the Labour Party.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.

Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.

,

Football Association investigates Block 109 over alleged pro-Hamas messages

The Football Association has launched an investigation into Block 109 over alleged pro-Hamas messages on social media.

Block 109 is a group of England fans and official members of the England Supporters Travel Club. The group takes its name from its seating position at Wembley Stadium.

In a group chat, one member of Block 109 reportedly responded to news of the government banning support for Hamas, the antisemitic genocidal terrorist group, by saying: “Can’t say anything these days without being thrown in jail. PC gone mad.”

A Jewish member of the group reportedly questioned that member on if he agreed with the Hamas charter, to which the member allegedly replied: “Spot on.” 

The Hamas charter calls for the genocide of all Jews worldwide and includes an infamous Hadith which states: “The Last Hour will not come until the Muslims fight against the Jews, until a Jew will hide himself behind a stone or a tree, and the stone or the tree will say: ‘O Muslim, there is a Jew behind me. Come and kill him!’”

The Jewish member told the fellow member that he believed supporters of Hamas’ doctrine to be antisemites, to which the England fan responded: “I’ve been upgraded. Get in.”

When asked for a statement, Block 109 claimed that “there were no references to Hamas as part of these messages” and added that the exchange was “reviewed extensively with representatives of the Football Supporters’ Association, Kick It Out and Love Football Hate Racism.”

Last year, the Football Association adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism.

Campaign Against Antisemitism continues to act against instances of anti-Jewish racism in all sports.

, ,

CAA demands resignation of CPS chief and explores legal options as charges are dropped against all suspects in “F*** the Jews…rape their daughters” convoy

Campaign Against Antisemitism has demanded that the Director of Public Prosecutions, Max Hill KC, “immediately explain this decision or resign” and is exploring its legal options after the JC reported that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) had dropped all charges against the remaining suspects in a notorious convoy that drove through London in May 2021.

As fighting flared in Gaza, a convoy waving the flag of the Palestinian Authority set off from the north of England, heading into London. Men in one of the cars shouted from a megaphone: “F*** the Jews…f*** all of them. F*** their mothers, f*** their daughters, and show your support for Palestine.” The speaker went on to call listeners to “Rape their [the Jews’] daughters”. The incident took place a very short distance from a synagogue and was condemned by the Prime Minister and Home Secretary.

The car was part of a convoy of some 200 cars displaying Palestinian Authority flags which started in Bradford, passing through Sheffield and Leicester down the M1 motorway before veering into Hendon and Golders Green, two North London neighbourhoods with large Jewish populations. According to witnesses, convoy participants shouted abuse at Jewish passersby, including: “Free Palestine! Go back to Poland”.

The astounding news of the dropped charges against Mohammed Iftikhar Hanif, 27, and Jawaad Hussain, 24, comes four months after the announcement in July by the CPS that it had dropped charges against Asif Ali, 25, and Adil Mota, 26, who had also until then been suspected of being involved. 

This now means that all charges against the four original suspects have been dropped.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “The Director of Public Prosecutions must immediately explain this decision or resign. If the CPS is incapable of bringing to justice the people who drove through London in broad daylight on camera calling for the rape of Jewish women and girls, then it has reached the absolute pinnacle of pointlessness.

“This was a crime that sent Jewish families running in fear and caused the Prime Minister and Home Secretary to demand action. Britain’s Jews are facing surging hatred and are crying out for justice. We are exploring whether we can bring a private prosecution, and we are also considering whether we could bring a judicial review against the CPS.

“It shames our country that our criminal justice system has yet again left Britain’s Jews to fend for themselves.”

In a statement, a CPS spokesperson told the JC: “The CPS has a duty to keep cases under continuing review and, following a further review of the evidence, we concluded there is no longer a realistic prospect of either defendant being convicted. We take reports of antisemitism and all other allegations of religious hatred extremely seriously because of the devastating impact they have on victims and wider society. Where there is sufficient evidence, we will prosecute these cases.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over five hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than five times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

, , , ,

Fugitive French Holocaust denier Vincent Reynouard appears in court in Edinburgh

A notorious French Holocaust denier living in Britain appeared today in Edinburgh Sheriff Court, following his arrest by Police Scotland officers in Anstruther last week.

The arrest of Vincent Reynouard, 53, came after he spent two years on the run.

Mr Reynouard was sentenced to jail for four months on 25th November 2020 by a court in Paris and again in January 2021 for six months, in addition to fines. His latest conviction is in relation to a series of antisemitic postings on Facebook and Twitter and a 2018 YouTube video for which fellow French Holocaust denier, Hervé Ryssen (also known as Hervé Lalin), received a seventeen-month-jail term earlier that year.

However, Mr Reynouard fled the country before serving his sentence and settled in the UK, where he reportedly worked as a private tutor teaching children mathematics, physics and chemistry. Private tutors are not required to undergo background checks.

According to far-right activist Fabrice Jérôme Bourbon — who was himself convicted in December 2021 in connection with denial of war crimes and defending Hervé Ryssen and fined €8,000 — Mr Reynouard was visited by local police and Interpol on 25th October 2021.

Mr Bourbon elaborated in his far-right weekly magazine, Rivarol, claiming that police and Interpol visited Mr Reynouard’s flat at the time, believed to be in Kent, at around 16:00 in order to apprehend him and potentially initiate extradition proceedings. Mr Reynouard allegedly concealed his identity and fled the scene, remaining at large.

Last week, he was finally arrested near Edinburgh. In the intervening months, Campaign Against Antisemitism has been cooperating with French Jewish groups seeking Mr Reynouard’s extradition to France. Along with Lord Austin, an Honorary Patron of Campaign Against Antisemitism, we have corresponded with police forces and prosecutors in the UK and Interpol in an effort to locate Mr Reynouard and bring him to justice. We are delighted that he has finally been caught.

Scottish police reportedly arrested him at an address near the Scottish capital, where he was apparently living under a false identity. He was brought before a judge on the same day and refused extradition to France.

Today the court heard that Mr Reynouard has been granted legal aid. He will be back in court next month, with a full extradition hearing scheduled for February.

Mr Reynouard faces a sentence of almost two years in a French prison, in addition to any further sentence in relation to other ongoing proceedings.

The Office Central de Lutte Contre les Crimes Contre l’Humanité, les Génocides et les Crimes de Guerre (OCLCH) — the arm of the French gendarmerie that specialises in hate crime and war crimes — has been leading the investigation.

Mr Reynouard’s first Holocaust denial conviction was in 1991 for distributing leaflets denying the existence of the gas chambers at concentration camps. Holocaust denial has been a criminal offence in France since 1990. He has been convicted on numerous occasions and his subsequent sentences include multiple prison terms and a €10,000 fine.

Mr Reynouard is alleged to have ties to Catholic fundamentalist groups that deny the Holocaust. In a recent analysis of the French far-right, the newspaper Liberation claimed that Mr Reynouard and Mr Ryssen are key members of a network of propagandists dedicated to the denial and distortion of the Holocaust.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Vincent Reynouard is a despicable Holocaust denier who has repeatedly been convicted by French courts. For him to have evaded justice, only to settle in the UK as a private tutor teaching children, is intolerable, which is why we worked with French Jewish organisations to secure his extradition so that he faces the consequences of his abhorrent incitement. We are pleased that, after months of investigations and, along with Lord Austin, correspondence with police and the criminal justice authorities, he has now finally been caught. We will continue to do everything within our power to ensure that he is extradited and serves his sentence in France.”

, , ,

Success for CAA after YouTube channels iFL TV and iD Boxing remove interviews featuring the unrepentant antisemite Wiley 

Two popular YouTube channels have removed interviews featuring the unrepentant antisemite Wiley following action by Campaign Against Antisemitism.

Last week, the YouTube channels iFL TV and iD Boxing, whose collective subscriber base totals nearly one million, both posted interviews with the rapper in which they spoke about the current state of boxing. During the course of both interviews, neither host questioned the rapper on his antisemitic remarks.

Campaign Against Antisemitism then wrote to both channels calling for the removal of both videos.

The rapper Richard Kylea Cowie, who is known as Wiley, went on an antisemitic tirade on social media in July 2020. In his tirade, Wiley likened Jews to the Ku Klux Klan and claimed that Jews had cheated him and were “snakes”, tweeted that Jews should “hold some corn” – a slang expression meaning that they should be shot – and added: “Jewish community you deserve it”. He also called on “black people” to go to “war” with Jews and repeatedly evoked conspiracy theories that Jews were responsible for the slave trade and were imposters who usurped black people — a conspiracy theory that has incited acts of terrorism against Jews in the United States.

In the days that followed, Wiley continued to rail against Jews on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. Following discussions with Campaign Against Antisemitism, a major 48-hour boycott of Twitter and Instagram in which we participated, and our projection of antisemitic tweets onto Twitter’s London headquarters, which then went viral, Twitter, Facebook (which owns Instagram), Google (which owns YouTube) and TikTok agreed to remove Wiley from their platforms, depriving him of access to his nearly one million social media followers.

At the time of Wiley’s original antisemitic tirade, Campaign Against Antisemitism immediately reported Wiley to the Metropolitan Police Service, but the police eventually confirmed to us that Wiley was not in the UK at the time of his tirade. Under Home Office rules, that means that the Metropolitan Police must give primacy to police in the jurisdiction where Wiley was at the time. Lawyers acting for Campaign Against Antisemitism have filed a criminal complaint with the Public Prosecution Service in the Netherlands, which is where he was located when he launched his tirade against Jews.

We also called for Wiley to be stripped of his MBE and have his Ivors Award rescinded.

However, barely a year later Wiley was again active on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube, notwithstanding their pledges to ban him. Wiley tweeted at the time: “In all my years on earth I realised everyone wants you to care about their stuff like Holocaust etc but not one of them give a f*** about the enslavement and f***ery of black people so it’s hard for me to care for them knowing they don’t care for us #YaGetIt #JusSayin.”

Wiley, despite promises of permanent suspensions from Twitter to Campaign Against Antisemitism, has repeatedly been able to create new accounts and spout racist hate towards Jews, even directly attacking Campaign Against Antisemitism. 

One such incident occurred in December when Wiley targeted a senior figure in Campaign Against Antisemitism directly, changing his profile picture to an image of this member of our team and tweeting a further picture of him. He then proceeded to taunt him in a series of tweets, including calling him a “coward” and then posting a video on Instagram taunting him.

The rapper, who recently released an album unsubtly titled “Anti-Systemic”, told our member on Instagram: “Don’t hide” and “come outside”. We are in touch with the police over the taunts and are examining legal options.

In the days that followed, Campaign Against Antisemitism unearthed footage from the rapper’s Instagram Live in which he rants about Jewish people and shouts to his audience: “Why did Hitler hate you? For nothing?”

Wiley continues to demonstrate a lack of remorse for his antisemitism by propagating the antisemitic conspiracy theory of Jewish influence and power.

, , ,

Woman reportedly yells “f***ing Jew bastards” after mistaking Christmas decorations for Star of David

A woman reportedly shouted antisemitic vitriol after coming across a house that she believed to be adorned with a Star of David.

However, the Kensal Rise house was in fact decorated with Christmas ornaments which the woman mistook for a Jewish symbol.

The woman reportedly yelled: “Oh my g-d, look, they’re Jews. Er, “f***ing Jew bastards.”

Footage of the incident was posted to the social media platform Nextdoor by one of the residents of the house.

“My son heard this from his room and it was caught on my Nest doorbell last night,” the resident said. “What they were looking at was an old rustic star Christmas decoration I have never taken down which evoked this antisemitic abuse.

“I’m not Jewish but we can all agree this is hate speech and is appalling.”

Another Nextdoor user said: “Regardless of whether you’re Jewish or not. It’s despicable! It makes me very concerned for my lovely Jewish friends, who are nothing but kind and giving.”

, ,

Brick thrown through synagogue window during evening prayers in Stamford Hill

A brick was reportedly thrown through the window of a Stamford Hill synagogue during evening prayers.

The incident occurred on Cazenove Road in Stamford Hill.

If you have any more information, please contact the police on 101 or Stamford Hill Shomrim on 0300 999 0123, quoting reference number: 4632068/22

Campaign Against Antisemitism works closely with Shomrim, with whom we have a data-sharing agreement.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

, ,

Jewish girls reportedly attacked on way home from school by people screaming “Jew” in Stamford Hill

Jewish girls have reportedly been attacked on their way home from school.

There are believed to have been two assailants behind the alleged attack who were also reported to have screamed “Jew” at the girls. 

The incident occurred on Amhurst Park in Stamford Hill.

If you have any more information, please contact the police on 101 or Stamford Hill Shomrim on 0300 999 0123, quoting reference number: 4632070/20

Campaign Against Antisemitism works closely with Shomrim, with whom we have a data-sharing agreement.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

Image credit: Google

,

Charity Commission launches inquiry into Islamic Centre of England

It has been reported that the Charity Commission is launching an investigation into the Islamic Centre of England. 

According to an investigation by the JC, the Centre recently hosted Ayatollah Hadavi Tehrani who, in 2012, reportedly claimed that “Zionists” were responsible for the massacre of Rohungya Muslims in Myanmar. 

In 2020, the Centre’s Director, Seyed Moosavi, who is also believed to be a representative of Iran’s Supreme Leader in the UK, publicly honoured Qasem Soleimani, a former general of the Iranian terrorist group, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), as a “dedicated soldier of Islam”. 

In 2019, following a gruelling effort over several years by Campaign Against Antisemitism and our allies, Hizballah, an antisemitic Islamist group backed by the IRGC, was proscribed by the British Government.

Mr Moosavi is also reported to have referred to protesters in Iran as “soldiers of Satan”, which is understood to have triggered the Charity Commission’s investigation into the charity. 

The Centre also allegedly supports the highly controversial annual “Al Quds Day” march in London, which was the brainchild of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the antisemitic theocratic regime in Iran. The march often features antisemitic chants and signs in the crowd.

The Centre is located in North West London, just minutes from several synagogues in the area.

Image credit: Google

, ,

Man who reportedly believes “Jewish elite” controls government appears in court on terror charges

A man who reportedly believes that the government is controlled by a “Jewish elite” has appeared in court on terror charges.

Oliver Lewin, 38, from Coalville, Leicestershire, pleaded not guilty plea to a charge of preparing terrorist acts.

Mr Lewin is accused of carrying out reconnaissance of potential targets, buying equipment, creating hideouts, and attempting to recruit others, Birmingham Crown Court heard earlier today.

The defendant’s alleged targets included transmitter masts and transport infrastructure.

Prosecutor Annabel Darlow KC said: “By 2021, Oliver Lewin was deeply opposed to the government of the United Kingdom. Mr Lewin, in fact, stated his goal was to topple the British government. He believed that it was dominated by a Jewish elite who took orders from Israel.”

She added that “By 2021 he had determined on the use of action to achieve his aim of destabilising the Government. His chosen method of attack was to target communication systems and transport infrastructure.”

Mr Lewin was said to have posted messages in a channel on the social media platform Telegram, which had been infiltrated by police officers, where he issued a “call to arms” and suggested “fire-bombing” sheds in the Sutton Coldfield of Birmingham.

“That is one of the UK’s most important transmission sites and is in fact the main broadcasting site for the Birmingham and West Midlands area, supporting TV and radio broadcasting services for many millions of users,” Ms Darlow said.

Mr Lewin reportedly admitted that he had purchased equipment, however, he allegedly told officers that he had no intention of carrying out an attack, arguing that he was just a “fantasist” engaging in “role play”.

According to the prosecution, Mr Lewin additionally said that he believed “white people across Europe were being systematically killed by the vaccine” in a “planned genocide”.

Earlier this year, a study found that about half of all references to the Holocaust on the encrypted messaging service, Telegram, either distort the facts about the genocide of the Jewish people, or deny that it happened at all.

Campaign Against Antisemitism closely monitors the far-right, which remains a dangerous threat to the Jewish community and other minority groups.

Image credit: Google

, ,

Jewish vegan activist Ben Rebuck denounces “absurd comparisons” between industrialised farming and the Holocaust 

Ben Rebuck, a Jewish vegan chef and activist who runs the popular Instagram page Ben’s Vegan Kitchen, appeared on the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism where he discussed his dislike for comparisons made between industrialised farming and the Holocaust, which often occur in the vegan community.

Mr Rebuck said: “It’s one of those things where I’ve seen people say it, and then I’ve sent them a message straight away and not holding back, being like ‘How dare you talk about [the Holocaust] in this way?’”

He further said that “people being killed in gas chambers and firing squads” is “far worse than animals being killed,” adding that the comparisons are “absurd.”

Mr Rebuck dismissed the comparisons as “shock tactics” and revealed that more than one confrontation has arisen from him standing up for his beliefs, so strong is his aversion to such references to the Holocaust. 

One fellow vegan activist even referred to the Ben’s Vegan Kitchen founder as “not a real vegan” after he voiced his concerns over Holocaust minimalisation.

“Using shock tactics is one thing but when it relates to one of the greatest genocides in the history of the human race…it’s not something I appreciate people doing. I’ve had quite a few arguments with people that I’ve seen do it,” he said. 

“It’s the shock factor. It doesn’t actually work for me, especially when it comes to the Holocaust. It’s stupid.”

Speaking on how antisemitism fits into wider activism, Mr Rebuck lamented how anti-Jewish racism is often overlooked, which he believes is partially due to Jews not being recognised as a minority in the same way as other groups.

“One of my favourite games to play,” he said, “is I ask people ‘How many Jews do you think there are in the United Kingdom, and what percentage of the population do you think it is?’ I think the biggest answer I got was about 15 million.”

“There are not 15 million Jews in the world,” our host pointed out.

“Well exactly,” Mr Rebuck replied. “I have friends who live in Hackney, friends who live in North London, so they know Golders Green, they know Stamford Hill. They see Jews, and they know Jews, and they’re friends with Jews, so they presume we’re a big part of this society, but we’re not and as a minority, we’re overlooked.”

“Antisemitism is a huge problem,” he added, “and it’s something that seems to be growing year on year and not going away, and we need more people to talk about it.”

Throughout the interview, Mr Rebuck touched upon a variety of other issues which included his online activism, how antisemitism has historically influenced Jewish foods and the similarities between keeping kosher and veganism.

This podcast can be listened to here, or watched here.

Podcast Against Antisemitism, produced by Campaign Against Antisemitism, talks to a different guest about antisemitism each week. It streams every Thursday and is available through all major podcast apps and YouTube. You can also subscribe to have new episodes sent straight to your inbox.

Previous guests have included comedian David Baddiel, television personality Robert Rinder, writer Eve Barlow, Grammy-Award-winning singer-songwriter Autumn Rowe, and actor Eddie Marsan.

, ,

CAA among 180 organisations calling on Twitter to adopt International Definition of Antisemitism 

Campaign Against Antisemitism is among 180 organisations calling on Twitter to adopt the International Definition of Antisemitism.

The move follows concerns of online antisemitism after rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, used his considerable Twitter platform to state he was “going death con [sic] 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE.” 

Shortly after, basketball player Kyrie Irving promoted an allegedly antisemitic film on his Twitter account.

The letter reads: “Since its establishment, Twitter has become one of the world’s preeminent social media platforms for online discussions, where citizens, elected officials, and the media exercise their right to free expression and engage in healthy and productive conversations. 

“To maximise the probability that the future is good, the world needs an online platform where everyone can participate. Unfortunately, this is not the case, as Jewish users are subject to unrelenting harassment on Twitter.”

Last year, we published a major report that shows how Twitter fails to implement consistently its own policies on hate. 

The report showed how Twitter appointed Campaign Against Antisemitism as a partner to monitor anti-Jewish racism on its platform and promised regular meetings, only to cease those meetings and ignore offers of antisemitism training after we began alerting the company to the inconsistent application of its policies by personnel.

Not only were phrases like “f*** the Jews” not considered to breach Twitter’s rules, but other phrases such as “Hitler was right” were sometimes permitted and sometimes removed, without any form of coherent reasoning. Moreover, one of the few areas where Twitter has in the past said that it would take action is over Holocaust denial, pledging to remove “attempts to deny or diminish” violent events such as the Shoah. 

Our report, however, shows that Twitter personnel repeatedly raised no objection to phrases such as “#Holohoax” and other, more elaborate tweets of Holocaust denial.

Campaign Against Antisemitism continues its robust engagement with social media companies over the content that they enable to be published, and we continue to make representations to the Government in this connection.

, ,

Former Jeremy Corbyn spokesperson joins Green Party

A former spokesperson for the antisemitic former leader of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, has joined the Green Party.

Matt Zarb Cousin, who declared at the time of the sacking of Rebecca Long-Bailey from the Shadow Cabinet two years ago that he was “staying in the Party with Rebecca Long-Bailey”, has now revealed that he has joined the Greens.

In a tweet, he said: “I’ve joined the Green Party. The country will not get the change it needs from our broken political system. All in on the Greens and electoral reform.”

He observed in a further tweet, “Thanks to the Greens for all the welcoming tweets, including from the leader and deputy. Very kind,” and criticised Sir Keir Starmer in comments to the media.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has long warned of the danger of controversial activists who have left the Labour Party joining the Greens instead.

Earlier this year, Ken Livingstone tried to join the Green Party but was prevented from doing so.

Our Antisemitism Barometer survey of British Jews late last year found that the Greens were second only to Labour in how many respondents felt that the Party was too tolerant of antisemitism (43%). 

Campaign Against Antisemitism has extensively documented alleged antisemitism among officers of the Green Party of England and Wales, including the Party’s former Equalities and Diversity Coordinator who now holds the International Coordinator portfolio, on which the Green Party has failed to act.

Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.

We are seeking to recruit a General Counsel a Creative Communications and Events Officer a Communications and Research Manager an Education and Outreach Intern to join our London office

Join the fight

Subscribe
Volunteer
Donate

Campaign Against Antisemitism is a volunteer-led charity dedicated to exposing and countering antisemitism through education and zero-tolerance enforcement of the law. Everything that we do is done by people who volunteer their time, using donations contributed by members of the public. Join the fight against antisemitism by subscribing to our updates, volunteering, or donating.